Becoming a Mythic Pensioner

So it's official, as of next month when I turn 50, I will technically be a Pensioner!

Man that feels weird to say "out loud" 😂

But yes, it's correct. I will be drawing a pension. It's from my earliest job, the one I had for 8½yrs when I left school midway through my A-Levels.

The earliest I can take it is when I turn 50, and the latest I can draw it is at 60. I worked it out via spreadsheet, and even ran the figures through ChatGPT, and both were in agreement - taking it at 50, assuming an average GenX lifespan of around 85 or so, is the best long-term option in order to reap the greatest overall benefit.

It's not a huge pension by any stretch, just a couple of hundred a month, but it's on top of my regular wages, so it'll be a nice little top-up. Not only that, but I also get a nice little lump sum on my Birthday, which should bump the savings account up a fair amount 😄

Money aside, I'm still Mythic Raiding and aiming this tier for Cutting Edge #6!

So the question I'm starting to face is this - how long can I keep playing at this level? Or hell, at all?

My reactions are generally as sharp as ever, but recently I've been getting pain in my arms and hands whenever I play for any extended periods. So it might not be the dulling of my reaction speed that kills my ability to play (which is what I have always thought would be the case), but rather my body physically aging me out of the process of playing for several hours at a time.

Obviously I can take pain-killers before playing, which should see me through most play sessions, but afterwards when they wear off the pain comes back, and it lasts for days in my wrists and forearms.

I'm hoping it's just a temporary thing. I know I need to do more exercise. I say more, what I really mean is any though. Maybe some strength training would help alleviate the issue, but it's hard to know for certain.

It looks like years, nay decades of using a PC may have finally begun to take its toll on me physically, but I love playing, not just WoW but games as a whole. I'd hate to get to the point where I can't play anything any more, so I'll have to start doing some research into how to cope or alleviate the symptoms as much as possible.

The good news is I should be properly retiring in 15yrs, as I intend to retire from working at 65. That should give me my work pension, which will be significantly more than the one I draw next month, and then at 67 I become a Pensioner in the eyes of the State when I draw my State Pension, which monetarily will be between the two I'll have been drawing by then.

That's if AI hasn't gone super-intelligent by then, taken control of the military and ordered Drone Strikes for everyone's 67th birthday eve. Soylent Green is people after all!

Getting older is a daunting prospect. Inside here (taps skull) I still feel like I'm in my mid-20's to early 30's, but the rest of me feels my age. I don't think I look my age, which is good, because I look at others around my age and think they look old. I'm not as old looking as they are, surely?

I've lost a lot of weight since the start of the year too, which has helped a bit. I've lost over 30lbs, but seem to have plateaued for the past couple of months at around 186lbs (I started at 218).

I know exercise will help me shift the rest of my weight to get to my ideal weight of around 154-164lbs, and I've about the same to lose as I have already. But the idea of exercise, especially as I get older, fills me with dread 😆

But time will inevitably tell. I have every intention to see out this remaining tier and expansion at the very least, and I'll re-assess where I am physically at that stage.

Midnight gets revealed in a few days, and doubtless pre-orders will go live on the 19th of August as well, allowing early access to Housing which should be interesting. No idea if housing will actually be usable or playable with Pre-Order, but it's certainly proven to be a part of the pre-order bundle, timing notwithstanding.

So yeah, this is a subject I'll have to assess as I go along. I had hoped to keep playing throughout the entire World Soul Saga (to the end of The Final Titan, the expansion following Midnight) at the very least, getting Cutting Edge fully along the way each tier, but we'll see!