My cousin had got a job in a developing country where internet and mail were ropey to say the least. He is based in a small hut on the side of a mountain, near a small town and is happy in his job. He comes home once in a while, where we had been used as an address for odd bits of mail, and where we also had access to his British bank account where most of his salary was paid so we could pay bills and whatever on his behalf out of the account. He used our address for this as well.
He returns home on a flying visit, and starts going through his (mainly junk) mail. In this pile of stuff he sees his current bank statement. He goes quiet.
"Errr...this is wrong" pointing at the statement.
"Very wrong"
"What have they done, accidently given you a million quid?" I say laughing.
"Not quite.... £50,000"
Silence.
"WHAT!"
We both think this must be a mistake or a scam, so we go round to the bank to sort it out.
No it is his...and there is more..... a heck of a lot more.
It turns out that he was a thalidomide baby, who had done well for himself, gone to university, good job, etc. However his compensation came from Germany, (loooong story) not UK. The German govt had seriously upgraded the frankly pitiful pensions they were paying out, and he had missed all the news as he was based in a fairly remote location.
A massively enhanced inflation linked tax free pension, backdated to when the Govt decided to upgrade, hence the lump sum in his account.
Lets just say he never has to work again. What has he done? He is now back in his hut on a mountain, the pension being paid into savings accounts. He is still happy.