Some stories are too good to die, like the one about Tony Abbott's prime ministerial pension. Apparently he would have been able to get one if he had been in office for just three more days.

It is said that the pension is only available to prime ministers who have been in the job for two years. Abbott became prime minister on September 18, 2013. He was replaced just short of two years, earlier this month on September 15. If only he had held out another three days he could have retired on serious money, or so the story goes.

His treasurer is said to have done much better. Joe Hockey was sworn in on 18 September, 2013 and left office on September 21 - a period of just over two years.

It's so delicious it ought to be true, which might be why the ABC recycled it several times on the night of the spill and one of the News Corporation papers reported it as a fact the next day. And it could be why I am still getting emails berating me for overlooking it when I totaled Abbott's entitlements on the night of the spill.