Economists say that the elderly face a higher rate of inflation than younger people, this is particularly true in Fiji where Pensions are not cost of living indexed.
As a result they are NEVER increased, regardless of devaluations of our currency and consistent increases in the cost of food, power, gas, fuel and water.

Not only does the Think Tank (term used very loosely) of the FNPF fail to take this into account, they continually compound their error by wasting money on full page colour advertisements in the press, attempting to justify a cut of 64% in existing pensions, which is a blatant misuse of the pensioners funds.
Greybeard 

10. Relax for the first few days

9. Get out of bed at the same time as you did when working

8. Get washed every day and clean your teeth 

7. Don’t get into conversations with the tele-marketers and Lowy pollsters

6. Don’t start going to church if you didn’t go when
you were working. This will only depress you.

5. Get to know your neighbours again

4. Don’t join clubs set up for retired people (depressing)

3. Stay physically active

2. Don’t lose your sense of humour especially when FNPF tries to take your pension away

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST – AFTER TWO WEEKS

1. Get off your lazy backside and go look for a part-time job. You will need to. 

Many years ago Australian Business Week magazine front page asked “Why are the Bankers Bastards ?”, a year later to the day the same publication had “Why are the Bankers Still Bastards?” , having recently had to pay the latest bank levies at the Supermarket checkout for using a debit/credit card I have come to the conclusion that Business Week should have found space for the word GREEDY.

Enjoy the following story which is about a 98 year old woman from the UK who apparently wrote this to her bank after being hit with a bank charge for bouncing a cheque.
The story goes the bank manager found it amusing enough and sent it to The Times who published it.
True or not, it’s still pretty funny.
Greybeard.

Dear Sir,
I am writing to thank you for bouncing my cheque with which I endeavored to pay my plumber last month. By my calculations, three nanoseconds must have elapsed between his presenting the cheque and the arrival in my account of the funds needed to honour it. I refer, of course, to the automatic monthly deposit of my Pension, an arrangement, which, I admit, has been in place for only thirty eight years. You are to be commended for seizing that brief window of opportunity, and also for debiting my account £30 by way of penalty for the inconvenience caused to your bank.
My thankfulness springs from the manner in which this incident has caused me to rethink my errant financial ways. I noticed that whereas I personally attend to your telephone calls and letters, when I try to contact you, I am confronted by the impersonal, overcharging, pre-recorded, faceless entity which your bank has become. From now on, I, like you, choose only to deal with a flesh-and-blood person. 
My mortgage and loan payments will therefore and hereafter no longer be automatic, but will arrive at your bank by cheque, addressed personally and confidentially to an employee at your bank whom you must nominate. Be aware that it is an offence under the Postal Act for any other person to open such an envelope. Please find attached an Application Contact Status which I require your chosen employee to complete. I am sorry it runs to eight pages, but in order that I know as much about him or her as your bank knows about me, there is no alternative. Please note that all copies of his or her medical history must be countersigned by a Solicitor, and the mandatory details of his/her financial situation (income, debts, assets and liabilities) must be accompanied by documented proof.
In due course, I will issue your employee with PIN number which he/she must quote in dealings with me. I regret that it cannot be shorter than 28 digits but, again, I have modelled it on the number of button presses required of me to access my account balance on yourphone bank service. As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Let me level the playing field even further. When you call me, press buttons as follows:
1. To make an appointment to see me.
2. To query a missing payment.
3. To transfer the call to my living room in case I am there.
4. To transfer the call to my bedroom in case I am sleeping.
5. To transfer the call to my toilet in case I am attending to nature.
6. To transfer the call to my mobile phone if I am not at home.
7. To leave a message on my computer (a password to access my computer is required. (A password will be communicated to you at a later date to the Authorized Contact.)
8. To return to the main menu and to listen to options 1 through to 8.
9. To make a general complaint or inquiry, the contact will then be put on hold, pending the attention of my automated answering service. While this may, on occasion, involve a lengthy wait, uplifting music will play for the duration of the call.

Regrettably, but again following your example, I must also levy an establishment fee to cover the setting up of this new arrangement.
May I wish you a happy, if ever so slightly less prosperous, New Year.

Your Humble Client