Simply put, having money in an IRA can allow you to time the receipt of that income to avoid being taxed on your Social Security benefit.

WSJ: Lower Your Taxes on Social Security Benefits

But Harare's money-changers will happily give 70 or 80, unless you ask for a receipt, while industrialists looking for foreign exchange must part with anything up to 100 Zim dollars to get hold of a single greenback.

ECONOMIST: Zimbabwe��s beans and bicycles

The authority says it paid for Mr Parsons' transport to the airport while he was also in receipt of a travel allowance from the European Union, meaning he was receiving the money twice.

BBC: David Parsons rejects demand for further payments

The young female cashier was texting on her cell phone when I arrived, pointing to the red phone downstairs one must use to call Moneygram and speak to a robot, selecting English or Spanish, whether sending or receiving money, giving the eight-digit confirmation code and personal ID information to release the funds for receipt.

FORBES: Adventures in Quick Cash