Unexpected

News came in the mail on Saturday morning along with the pre-approved credit card offers and the urgent pleas for political donations. Two of the letters were for me. 

The first I had been somewhat expecting. The American Rescue Plan included a stipulation that increased the subsidy for health insurance. I suspected that my monthly payments might be decreased, but I was shocked at how very much. The plan was already a quarter of the cost of the plan that my former employer wanted to pass on to their retirees. I did not grudge paying the premiums. I only grudge the deductibles. Now I am literally paying twenty percent of that already acceptable price. It's a nice reminder that I voted for the right president. I will remember it every month when I make that token payment.

The second letter came totally out of the blue. My retirement plan wrote to tell me that they had miscalculated my monthly pension. They will be increasing my pension by more than ten percent and sending me the increase retroactively. Next week I will be receiving a small windfall that I had not foreseen. Between Social Security and my pension I had been receiving close to what I had been making before I retired. Now I will be making a small bit more. I don't have the expenses of working and commuting any longer so this really does feel like a major shift in my circumstances. 

Yay for me! I may need to start planning a trip. I'd love to go to Ireland. I wonder if they are still rejecting Americans.