The Retirement Café Podcast: Recent Episodes
Justin King
The transition into retirement isn't purely a financial event, it's so much more. It's one of those life-changing events that requires you to plan and to adapt. Full of information, tips and guidance, The Retirement Café personal finance Podcast helps you address the challenges and opportunities that arise so you can live a fulfilling retirement. Your host is Justin King, a Chartered Financial Planner and Accredited Later Life Adviser. Contact Justin at hello@theretirementcafe.co.uk with any comments or questions or get in touch on Twitter @JustinKingCFP.
I was excited to chat once again with Behavior Gap author and financial storyteller Carl Richards about the ideas behind his brand-new book, Your Money and 101 Other Things That Matter.
Carl's famous hand-drawn sketches have helped millions simplify complex financial concepts — but beneath the simplicity lies profound wisdom about living a meaningful, values-driven life. Together, we explore how our relationship with money shapes our happiness, the tension between working hard and letting go, and why sometimes the bravest thing we can do as investors is nothing at all.
In this episode we discuss:
· Carl's journey from financial planner to New York Times columnist and author of the beloved "Sketch Guy" series.
· The power of simple visuals to create clarity and spark real conversations about money.
· "Actively doing nothing" — why patient investing and staying the course is one of the hardest (and most valuable) disciplines.
· The spending practice — connecting your money to what you truly care about, and how everyday spending can become a reflection of your values.
· "Spend the money" — why many retirees need permission to stop deferring joy and start living now.
· Days or decades — tuning out the noise, avoiding anxiety-driven media, and focusing on what genuinely matters in the long term.
Carl Richards is a Certified Financial Planner™, author, and creator of The Behavior Gap and The Sketch Guy column for The New York Times, where his hand-drawn sketches made complex financial ideas beautifully simple. Through his work at behaviorgap.com, Carl helps people and advisors worldwide have better conversations about money, decisions, and what truly matters most.
🙌 Connect with Carl:
📘 Buy Carl's latest book, Your Money and 101 Other Things That Matter https://amzn.to/4ojvIqO
📘📘 Place a bulk order of Carl's book and save an additional 5% by using the code YourMoney5 at checkout: https://bulkbooks.com/products/your-money-reimagining-wealth-in-simple-sketches
🎓 The Behavior Gap website: https://behaviorgap.com/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thinkingcarl/
X: https://x.com/behaviorgap
Instagram: https://instagram.com/behaviorgap
Thanks for checking out my YouTube channel - I'm Chartered and Certified Financial Planner Justin King and I help people to retire successfully.
CONNECT WITH ME
✔️ Subscribe to my Channel here ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/c/JustinKingMFP/?sub_confirmation=1
🎙️ Subscribe to The Retirement Café Podcast here ➡️ https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-retirement-caf%C3%A9-podcast/id1441976448
📕 Buy my book, The Retirement Café Handbook: https://amzn.to/3ZwjIbj
👉 Get my weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/MFPNews
👉 MFP Wealth Management: https://www.mfpwealthmanagement.co.uk/
👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinking-online-retirement-planner-ifa/
⚠️ This podcast is for information and entertainment only. Nothing on this channel constitutes financial advice. Please do not make any decisions based on the contents of my podcasts; seek professional independent financial advice first!
I always love catching up with my good friend and fellow financial planner Pete Matthew—especially when we get to record it for The Retirement Café Podcast.
You may have heard Pete on the podcast before (this is his third appearance!) or seen him on his hugely popular Meaningful Money YouTube channel. We’ve even swapped mics—I've joined his show twice too! We both share a mission: helping people retire with clarity, confidence, and purpose.
This time, Pete’s back to talk about his brand-new book The Meaningful Retirement Guide. It’s packed with straightforward guidance on how to organise your finances in retirement—so you can get on with living the life you’ve worked hard for.
In our conversation, we cover:
- The biggest mistake people make when planning their retirement
- Why Pete has no plans to stop working—ever!
- How one man turned volunteering into a paid role that transformed his retirement plan
- The shift from saving to spending (and why it’s harder than it sounds)
- What your money is really for
As always, I hope it gives you a helpful nudge toward the kind of retirement you truly want.
For those who want to go further, Pete offers a self-paced Retirement Planning Course through his Meaningful Money Academy. The course includes video lessons, downloadable tools, access to financial planning software, and a supportive online community. Use the code PODCAST for a discount.
USEFUL LINKS
📘 Buy Pete’s latest book, The Meaningful Money Retirement Guide: https://amzn.to/440BpkP
🎓 Explore the Meaningful Money Academy: https://meaningfulacademy.com/
Connect with Pete:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MeaningfulMoney
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petematthew/
Thanks for checking out my podcast - I’m Chartered and Certified Financial Planner Justin King and I help people to retire successfully.
CONNECT WITH ME
✔️ Subscribe to my Channel here ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/c/JustinKingMFP/?sub_confirmation=1
🎙️ Subscribe to The Retirement Café Podcast here ➡️ https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-retirement-caf%C3%A9-podcast/id1441976448
📘 Download the first 3 chapters of The Retirement Café Handbook:
https://keap.page/wb198/rch-download-chs-1-3-lp.html
👉 Get my weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/MFPnews
👉 MFP Wealth Management: https://www.mfpwealthmanagement.co.uk/
👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinking-online-retirement-planner-ifa/
⚠️ This podcast is for information and entertainment only. Nothing on this channel constitutes financial advice. Please do not make any decisions based on the contents of my videos; seek professional independent financial advice first!
Are you worried about the future of your wealth? You're not alone.
Sweeping reforms to pensions, inheritance tax, business relief, and agricultural relief are coming in 2026 and 2027 — and they could have a major impact on your estate and the legacy you leave behind.
In this must-listen episode of The Retirement Café Podcast, I’m joined by Lucy Obrey, Partner and Head of Private Client at Higgs LLP, to break down what these proposed changes really mean for business owners, landowners, and pension holders — in other words, most of us.
You’ll learn:
🔍 Why these reforms mean it’s time to urgently review your estate plan
🛡️ How to safeguard your assets with trusts, life cover, and strategic planning
🧾 What you need to know about inherited pensions — and why pension consolidation could simplify your legacy
💰 How to ensure your beneficiaries have liquidity to cover tax bills, without sacrificing your wealth We wrap up with steps to take now to maximise planning opportunities before the rules change. Listen now to learn how to protect your wealth and legacy.
USEFUL LINKS
Higgs LLP website: https://www.higgsllp.co.uk/
Connect with Lucy on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucy-obrey-70a35133/
✔️ Subscribe to my Channel here ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/c/JustinKingMFP/?sub_confirmation=1
🎙️ Subscribe to The Retirement Café Podcast here ➡️ https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-retirement-caf%C3%A9-podcast/id1441976448
CONNECT WITH ME
Thanks for checking out my YouTube channel - I’m Chartered and Certified Financial Planner Justin King and I help people to retire successfully.
📘 Buy my new book, The Retirement Café Handbook – Nine Accelerators for a Successful Retirement: https://amzn.to/3VDCegl
👉 Get my weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/MFPNews 👉 MFP Wealth Management: https://www.mfpwealthmanagement.co.uk/ 👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinking-online-retirement-planner-ifa/ 👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustinKingCFP
⚠️ This podcast is for information and entertainment only. Nothing on this podcast constitutes financial advice. Please do not make any decisions based on the contents of my podcasts; seek professional independent financial advice first!
Dr. Daniel Crosby is a psychologist, behavioural finance expert, and New York Times bestselling author, who joins me to discuss his latest book, The Soul of Wealth.
Dr. Crosby, known for his groundbreaking insights into how psychological factors influence financial decisions, shares how his book explores the balance between monetary wealth and what he calls "soulful wealth"—the richness found in relationships, health, and personal fulfilment. With 50 short, actionable essays, The Soul of Wealth serves as a practical guide for those looking to rethink their relationship with money and align their finances with what truly matters in life.
During our conversation, Daniel discusses key insights from his previous books, showing how behavioural finance helps retirees make smarter, goal-driven decisions. We explore how emotions can undermine financial success and how understanding our behaviour leads to better choices in retirement planning. From mastering delayed gratification to spending in ways that boost happiness, Daniel shares practical advice for redefining wealth beyond just pounds and pence.
USEFUL LINKS
Standard Deviations Website: https://www.standarddeviationspod.com/
Standard Deviations Podcast: https://www.standarddeviationspod.com/episodes
Daniel’s YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/@drdanielcrosby
Buy Daniel’s books: The Laws of Wealth - https://amzn.to/3YqmrCW The Behavioral Investor - https://amzn.to/3UaRgJq The Soul of Wealth - https://amzn.to/3Ud0dSx
Connect with Daniel on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielcrosby/
✔️ Subscribe to my Channel here ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/c/JustinKingMFP/?sub_confirmation=1
🎙️ Subscribe to The Retirement Café Podcast here ➡️ https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-retirement-caf%C3%A9-podcast/id1441976448
CONNECT WITH ME
Thanks for checking out my YouTube channel - I’m Chartered and Certified Financial Planner Justin King and I help people to retire successfully.
📘 Buy my new book, The Retirement Café Handbook – Nine Accelerators for a Successful Retirement: https://amzn.to/3VDCegl
👉 Get my weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/MFPNews 👉 MFP Wealth Management: https://www.mfpwealthmanagement.co.uk/ 👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinking-online-retirement-planner-ifa/ 👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustinKingCFP
⚠️ This podcast is for information and entertainment only. Nothing on this podcast constitutes financial advice. Please do not make any decisions based on the contents of my podcasts; seek professional independent financial advice first!
George Kinder is a friend, mentor and widely recognised as the Father of the Financial Life Planning movement. For over 30 years, George has trained thousands of financial advisers from 30 countries in life planning, which enables them to help deliver freedom into their clients’ lives.
George has published seven books, and central to most is this concept of freedom. His most recent book The Three Domains of Freedom sets out to empower readers to experience profound freedoms in their own lives and bring about positive change to our civilisation as a result.
In our conversation we explore the book’s three core concepts, delve into the challenges of balancing mindfulness with future planning, the feeling of insignificance in a chaotic world, and the potential impact retirees can have on society.
George also shares his vision for a more just and sustainable world and the practical steps he suggests for making that vision a reality.
USEFUL LINKS
George’s website: https://www.georgekinder.com/ The Kinder Institute of Life Planning: https://www.kinderinstitute.com/
George’s books: The Three Domains of Freedom: https://amzn.to/3Xu1I0H A Golden Civilisation: https://amzn.to/47cXgGJ Transforming Suffering into Wisdom: Mindfulness and the Art of Inner Listening: https://amzn.to/3TbKB13 Life Planning for You: https://amzn.to/4g7RNoM The Seven Stages of Money Maturity: https://amzn.to/4cOjGzk Lighting the Torch: https://amzn.to/4e8D7nC
CONNECT WITH ME
Thanks for checking out my podcast - I’m Chartered and Certified Financial Planner Justin King and I help people to retire successfully.
📘 Buy my new book, The Retirement Café Handbook – Nine Accelerators for a Successful Retirement: https://amzn.to/3VDCegl
👉 Get my weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/MFPNews 👉 MFP Wealth Management: https://www.mfpwealthmanagement.co.uk/ 👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinking-online-retirement-planner-ifa/ 👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustinKingCFP
⚠️ This podcast is for information and entertainment only. Nothing on this podcast constitutes financial advice. Please do not make any decisions based on the contents of my podcasts; seek professional independent financial advice first!
I'm thrilled to have with us a guest whose work has profoundly shaped the way we think about time, productivity, and living a meaningful life. Oliver Burkeman is a renowned British journalist, author, and former columnist for The Guardian, best known for his groundbreaking book 4,000 Weeks, Time Management for Mortals.
I loved this book and am honoured that Oliver joined me to share his story and research, and to introduce his latest book, Meditations for Mortals - Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make More Time for What Counts, which has sparked a global conversation about the finite nature of our lives and how we can make the most of our limited time, especially as we enter the later stages of life.
We chat about how life’s too short to wait for the “right” moment, especially for retirees and soon to be retirees, and Oliver urges us to live meaningfully now—not later. After all, time is finite.
USEFUL LINKS
Oliver’s website: https://www.oliverburkeman.com/ Oliver on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oliver-burkeman-51651b21a/ Oliver on X/Twitter: https://x.com/oliverburkeman Meditations for Mortals - Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make More Time for What Counts book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/46Xa1oY
✔️ Subscribe to my Channel here ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/c/JustinKingMFP/?sub_confirmation=1
🎙️ Subscribe to The Retirement Café Podcast here ➡️ https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-retirement-caf%C3%A9-podcast/id1441976448
CONNECT WITH ME
Thanks for checking out my YouTube channel - I’m Chartered and Certified Financial Planner Justin King and I help people to retire successfully.
📘 Buy my new book, The Retirement Café Handbook – Nine Accelerators for a Successful Retirement: https://amzn.to/3VDCegl
👉 Get my weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/MFPNews 👉 MFP Wealth Management: https://www.mfpwealthmanagement.co.uk/ 👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinking-online-retirement-planner-ifa/ 👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustinKingCFP
⚠️ This podcast is for information and entertainment only. Nothing on this podcast constitutes financial advice. Please do not make any decisions based on the contents of my podcasts; seek professional independent financial advice first!
Approaching retirement and frustrated with her job, Siobhan Daniels made a big decision: to start living life on her own terms. Rather than feeling broken, voiceless and hiding from life’s challenges, she took early retirement, swapped her possessions for a motorhome, and drove off to find them. Since that day five years ago, Siobhan has published a book she called Retirement Rebel: One woman, one motorhome, one great big adventure - an honest and uplifting story of how one woman stepped off the merry-go-round of life. Through her podcast, public speaking and book Siobhan is keen to show older women they can have their adventures and age positively. USEFUL LINKS Siobhan’s website: https://www.shuvonshuvoff.co.uk/ Retirement Rebel book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/467OitL Retirement Rebel podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/retirement-rebel/id1727857729 The Armchair Adventure Festival 2024: https://www.armchairadventurefestival.com/ ✔️ Subscribe to my Channel here ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/c/JustinKingMFP/?sub_confirmation=1 🎙️ Subscribe to The Retirement Café Podcast here ➡️ https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-retirement-caf%C3%A9-podcast/id1441976448 CONNECT WITH ME Thanks for checking out my YouTube channel - I’m Chartered and Certified Financial Planner Justin King and I help people to retire successfully. 📘 Buy my new book, The Retirement Café Handbook – Nine Accelerators for a Successful Retirement: https://amzn.to/3VDCegl 👉 Get my weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/MFPNews 👉 MFP Wealth Management: https://www.mfpwealthmanagement.co.uk/ 👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinking-online-retirement-planner-ifa/ 👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustinKingCFP
⚠️ This podcast is for information and entertainment only. Nothing on this podcast constitutes financial advice. Please do not make any decisions based on the contents of my podcasts; seek professional independent financial advice first!
Today, we're diving into the perplexing topic of why more people don’t buy annuities to provide a guaranteed income in retirement, and who better to have this conversation with than Billy Burrows.
Billy is a highly regarded financial adviser with over 30 years’ experience and founder of the Retirement Planning Project which aims to make it easier for people to get information and help on all aspects of retirement planning.
In our conversation Billy and I explore some of the reasons that deter potential annuity buyers from securing their retirement income, explain mortality drag and mortality cross subsidy, plus why buying annuities in stages can be beneficial.
We also discuss the impact future government policies could have upon pensions and annuities – in light of the upcoming general election.
USEFUL LINKS
Find out more about Billy: www.williamburrows.com Billy on Twitter / X: https://x.com/BillyBurrows
Billy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billy-burrows-6ab1521a/
Billy’s previous episodes on the podcast:
Pension freedoms: https://www.theretirementcafe.co.uk/episodes/pension-freedoms
Annuities: https://www.theretirementcafe.co.uk/episodes/william-burrows
Pension income options – annuity versus drawdown: https://www.theretirementcafe.co.uk/episodes/179-annuity-billy-burrows
✔️ Subscribe to my Channel here ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/c/JustinKingMFP/?sub_confirmation=1
🎙️ Subscribe to The Retirement Café Podcast here ➡️ https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-retirement-caf%C3%A9-podcast/id1441976448
CONNECT WITH ME
Thanks for checking out my YouTube channel - I’m Chartered and Certified Financial Planner Justin King and I help people to retire successfully.
📘 Buy my new book, The Retirement Café Handbook – Nine Accelerators for a Successful Retirement: https://amzn.to/3VDCegl
👉 Get my weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/MFPNews 👉 MFP Wealth Management: https://www.mfpwealthmanagement.co.uk/ 👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinking-online-retirement-planner-ifa/ 👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustinKingCFP
⚠️ This podcast is for information and entertainment only. Nothing on this podcast constitutes financial advice. Please do not make any decisions based on the contents of my podcasts; seek professional independent financial advice first!
I’m delighted to welcome back Jacqueline Berry, a regular guest celebrated for her passion for making the UK's care system easier to navigate.
Jacqueline is the founding director of My Care Consultant, a market-leader in helping people navigate the care system, and she is a fountain of knowledge in all things care related. in episode 40 she explained the fundamentals of the UK care system and returned in episode 154 to share tips on how to apply successfully for NHS Continuing Healthcare.
Well, she's back with exciting news about her latest venture, My Care Hub. Imagine having a guidebook for the labyrinth that is care support in the UK, a pioneering online one-stop shop for care advice – that's what Jacqueline's developed! And it's not just for those who need care themselves; My Care Hub will be a lifeline for the unsung everyday heroes out there, the millions of unpaid carers.
It’s also a wondered resource for my financial planner friends listening to better support your clients. We also chat about the Carer's Leave Act of 2023 – a big win for carers everywhere. So, grab your cuppa, settle in, and let's get into my conversation with Jacqueline.
USEFUL LINKS
My Care Consultant Website
Register to hear when My Care Hub is launched - My Care Hub (google.com)
Free guide to NHS Continuing Healthcare - sign up for newsletter.
Episode 40: Navigating the care system, with Jacqueline Berry
Episode 154: How to apply successfully fir NHS Continuing Healthcare
My Care Consultant on Facebook
Jacqueline Berry on LinkedIn
Jacqueline Berry on Twitter
Thanks for checking out my podcast - I’m Justin King, a Chartered Financial Planner and I specialise in helping people to retire successfully.
CONNECT WITH ME
✔️ Subscribe to my YouTube Channel here ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/@TheRetirementCafe/?sub_confirmation=1
📘 Buy my new book The Retirement Café Handbook – Nine Accelerators for a Successful Retirement: https://amzn.to/3Q686I8
🎙️ Subscribe to The Retirement Café Podcast here ➡️ https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-retirement-caf%C3%A9-podcast/id1441976448
👉 Get my weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/MFPNews
👉 MFP Wealth Management: https://www.mfpwealthmanagement.co.uk/
👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinking-online-retirement-planner-ifa/
👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustinKingCFP
⚠️ This podcast is for information and entertainment only. Nothing on this podcast constitutes financial advice. Please do not make any decisions based on the contents of my podcasts; seek professional independent financial advice first!
Do you believe you can heal faster just by tricking your brain?
Could you lose weight with only a change of mindset?
Could you think yourself into being younger?
Can the power of your thoughts defy ageing?
In short, have you ever wondered if you could improve your health by harnessing the power of your mind?
When it comes to our health, too many of us feel trapped by a medical diagnosis, believing that it can only mean a static or worsening condition. Whether it is stiff knees, frayed nerves or failing eyesight, your mind can lead you to believe things will only get worse. But this week’s guest has proven through decades of scientific research that with practical steps you can take control of your mindset, by using your thoughts and perspective to help improve your wellbeing.
Award-winning social psychologist Professor Ellen Langer has been studying the connection between the mind and body for over 4 decades as an esteemed psychologist at Harvard. Known as the "mother of mindfulness”, she is the author of 13 books, including her most recent release Mindful Body - Thinking Our Way to Lasting Health, which will help you navigate a path to improved health and wellbeing.
We also explore the concept of risk as a personal phenomenon and its impact upon how we approach retirement planning.
USEFUL LINKS
Buy ‘The Mindful Body’ on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Ncd8QU Professor Langer’s website: https://www.ellenlanger.me/ Professor Langer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellenjlanger/ Professor Langer on Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/ellenjl Thanks for checking out my YouTube channel - I’m Chartered and Certified Financial Planner Justin King and I help people to retire successfully.
CONNECT WITH ME
✔️ Subscribe to my Channel here ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/@TheRetirementCafe/?sub_confirmation=1
📘 Buy my new book The Retirement Café Handbook – Nine Accelerators for a Successful Retirement: https://amzn.to/3Q686I8
🎙️ Subscribe to The Retirement Café Podcast here ➡️ https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-retirement-caf%C3%A9-podcast/id1441976448
👉 Get my weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/MFPnews 👉 MFP Wealth Management: https://www.mfpwealthmanagement.co.uk/ 👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinking-online-retirement-planner-ifa/ 👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustinKingCFP
⚠️ This podcast is for information and entertainment only. Nothing on this podcast constitutes financial advice. Please do not make any decisions based on the contents of my podcasts; seek professional independent financial advice first!
Hello and welcome – today I have the pleasure of sharing a fascinating conversation I had with Professor Paul Dolan – who’s maybe better known as the Professor of Happiness.
Paul is a behavioural scientist, advisor to the government and currently Professor of Behavioural Science at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He’s published 41 peer reviewed articles and been cited more than 32,000. Paul has certainly made the science of happiness his business.
You may well have read one of his two best-selling books. The first is called ‘Happiness by Design’ and his most recently released book is called ‘Happy Ever After’, which is the focus of our conversation today.
We chat about all things related to happiness, not least how to make your retirement years as fulfilling as possible.
USEFUL LINKS
Register for Paul’s free course ‘Get Happier’- coming soon: https://pauldolan.co.uk/courses Paul’s website: https://pauldolan.co.uk/ Paul on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-dolan-a018691b/ Paul on Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/profpauldolan
CONNECT WITH ME
✔️ Subscribe to my Channel here ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/c/JustinKingMFP/?sub_confirmation=1
📘 Buy my new book The Retirement Café Handbook – Nine Accelerators for a Successful Retirement: https://amzn.to/3Q686I8
🎙️ Subscribe to The Retirement Café Podcast here ➡️ https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-retirement-caf%C3%A9-podcast/id1441976448
📘 Download my first book for free, Ready, Steady, Retire: https://wb198-89a1ad.pages.infusionsoft.net/ https://www.theretirementcafe.co.uk/
👉 Get my weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/MFPnews 👉 MFP Wealth Management: https://www.mfpwealthmanagement.co.uk/ 👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinking-online-retirement-planner-ifa/ 👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustinKingCFP
⚠️ This podcast is for information and entertainment only. Nothing on this podcast constitutes financial advice. Please do not make any decisions based on the contents of my podcasts; seek professional independent financial advice first!
📘 My new book The Retirement Café Handbook - Nine Accelerators for a Successful Retirement, is out now!
Get ready for a format twist this week on the podcast as I switch roles from host to guest. I'm absolutely thrilled to introduce none other than the incredible Pete Matthew, a dear friend and fellow Chartered Financial Planner, who's taking the reins as my guest host.
Now, if the world of personal finance sets your heart racing, then Pete Matthew needs no introduction. He's the mastermind behind the ground-breaking Meaningful Money podcast, a powerhouse with over 500 episodes under its belt. What’s more his YouTube channel, also named Meaningful Money, boasts an astounding 86,000 subscribers, so you will likely recognise Pete’s face or voice from somewhere.
You may have heard me mention over the past couple of weeks that I’ve written a new book. It’s called The Retirement Café Handbook - Nine Accelerators for a Successful Retirement, and it officially launches today! Race over to Amazon and order your copy pronto.
As the tables turn in this episode, Pete takes the lead and grills me about the journey that led to the creation of this book. We dive into the creative process, how this podcast was the inspiration, and I share how I hope this handbook will transform countless lives by paving the way to a truly meaningful retirement. Get ready, also, to discover the bedrock of my framework—the three pivotal levers of purpose, self-care, and planning.
USEFUL LINKS
📘 Buy my new book The Retirement Café Handbook – Nine Accelerators for a Successful Retirement: https://amzn.to/3Q686I8
Find out more about The Retirement Café Handbook: https://www.theretirementcafe.co.uk/
Follow Pete Matthew:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petematthew/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PeteMatthew
Meaningful Money YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MeaningfulMoney
CONNECT WITH ME
✔️ Subscribe to my Channel here ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/c/JustinKingMFP/?sub_confirmation=1
🎙️ Subscribe to The Retirement Café Podcast here ➡️ https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-retirement-caf%C3%A9-podcast/id1441976448
📘 Download my first book for free, Ready, Steady, Retire:
https://wb198-89a1ad.pages.infusionsoft.net/
https://www.theretirementcafe.co.uk/
👉 Get my weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/MFPnews
👉 MFP Wealth Management: https://www.mfpwealthmanagement.co.uk/
👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinking-online-retirement-planner-ifa/
👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustinKingCFP
⚠️ This podcast is for information and entertainment only. Nothing on this podcast constitutes financial advice. Please do not make any decisions based on the contents of my podcasts; seek professional independent financial advice first!
📘 The wait is finally over! My much-anticipated book, The Retirement Café Handbook - Nine Accelerators for a Successful Retirement, is now available to pre-order on Amazon!
To explore some of the key themes I am bringing back to the podcast a true maestro of understanding human behaviour and the mind-bending world of advertising - none other than Rory Sutherland, the ingenious UK Vice Chairman of Ogilvy, a global advertising powerhouse that needs no introduction.
Hold onto your headphones, because Rory isn't just an advertising titan – he's a TED Talk sensation! Imagine captivating the minds of millions, as his thought-provoking talks have been devoured nearly 7 million times.
In this episode Rory reveals his thoughts as a behavioural scientist on some of the themes I explore in the Handbook, by diving headfirst into the ocean of retirement fears including when to retire, mastering your financial reservoir, and the intricate art of downsizing.
Together, we'll explain how The Retirement Café Handbook asks the right questions and helps you craft a roadmap towards a triumphant retirement.
USEFUL LINKS
📘 Buy my new book The Retirement Café Handbook – Nine Accelerators for a Successful Retirement: https://amzn.to/3Q686I8
Find out more about The Retirement Café Handbook: https://www.theretirementcafe.co.uk/
Connect with Rory:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rorysutherland/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rorysutherland
Watch Rory’s TED talks: https://www.ted.com/speakers/rory_sutherland
Buy Rory’s book:
📘 Alchemy: The Magic of Original Thinking in a World of Mind-Numbing Conformity - https://amzn.to/3QyOM6s
Thanks for checking out my YouTube channel - I’m Chartered and Certified Financial Planner Justin King and I help people to retire successfully.
CONNECT WITH ME
✔️ Subscribe to my Channel here ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/c/JustinKingMFP/?sub_confirmation=1
🎙️ Subscribe to The Retirement Café Podcast here ➡️ https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-retirement-caf%C3%A9-podcast/id1441976448
📘 Download my first book for free, Ready, Steady, Retire:
https://wb198-89a1ad.pages.infusionsoft.net/
https://www.theretirementcafe.co.uk/
👉 Get my weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/MFPnews
👉 MFP Wealth Management: https://www.mfpwealthmanagement.co.uk/
👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinking-online-retirement-planner-ifa/
👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustinKingCFP
⚠️ This video is for information and entertainment only. Nothing on this channel constitutes financial advice. Please do not make any decisions based on the contents of my videos; seek professional independent financial advice first!
Pre-order my new book ‘The Retirement Café Handbook – Nine Accelerators for a Successful Retirement’: https://amzn.to/3Q686I8
In this week’s podcast, Dr Martin Hyde is making getting old sexy.
Martin is a renowned gerontologist. In our conversation we delve into what being a gerontologist actually means, and Martin debunks the misconception that studying older individuals is uninteresting or uninspiring.
Martin has collaborated with researchers from around the globe, allowing him to explore the diverse experiences of aging in different countries and among various groups of people. His work has truly become an exciting area of research, keeping him continually curious and eager to learn more about the complexities of aging.
Remember, that getting old also impacts the young! Martin highlights the importance of looking at your whole life course, so you plan for what it takes to be old and happy.
I hope our conversation will open your eyes to how the perception of getting old does not match reality.
USEFUL LINKS
Connect with Martin:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-hyde-5815ab42/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HydeM1976
Reach Martin at Swansea University: https://www.swansea.ac.uk/staff/martin.hyde/
Thanks for checking out my YouTube channel - I’m Chartered and Certified Financial Planner Justin King and I help people to retire successfully.
CONNECT WITH ME
✔️ Subscribe to my Channel here ➡️ https://www.youtube.com/c/JustinKingMFP/?sub_confirmation=1
🎙️ Subscribe to The Retirement Café Podcast here ➡️ https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-retirement-caf%C3%A9-podcast/id1441976448
📘 Download my book for free, Ready, Steady, Retire:
https://wb198-89a1ad.pages.infusionsoft.net/
https://www.theretirementcafe.co.uk/
👉 Get my weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/MFPnews
👉 MFP Wealth Management: https://www.mfpwealthmanagement.co.uk/
👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinking-online-retirement-planner-ifa/
👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustinKingCFP
⚠️ This video is for information and entertainment only. Nothing on this channel constitutes financial advice. Please do not make any decisions based on the contents of my videos; seek professional independent financial advice first!
James Elliott is a psychotherapist and resilience coach. Using his 14 years in the British Army’s Airborne Forces developing skills in resilience to empower people to tackle a variety of challenges, he works with people ranging from professional athletes to politicians.
In our conversation James provides insight into how a loss of identity – either as a soldier or as a CEO – can be the hardest thing to deal with when retiring. A sense of identity is crucial to help you manage the next stage of your life, even better if what you enjoy doing helps benefit your community.
In his book, Think Yourself Resilient: Harness Your Emotions. Build Your Confidence. Transform Your Life he breaks resilience down into different pillars, looking at confidence, identity, goals, relationships and physical health. By focusing on these elements we give ourselves the best chance to be resilient to life changes.
Listen to more of his fascinating story here.
USEFUL LINKS
To connect with James:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-elliott-8360a41b5/
https://james-elliott.mykajabi.com/
https://www.instagram.com/jameselliottofficial/?hl=en
James’s book is available to purchase here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Think-Yourself-Resilient-Emotions-Confidence/dp/1804190535/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
CONNECT WITH ME
Thanks for checking out my YouTube channel - I’m Chartered and Certified Financial Planner Justin King and I help people to retire successfully.
📘 Download my book, Ready, Steady, Retire:
https://wb198-89a1ad.pages.infusionsoft.net/
https://www.theretirementcafe.co.uk/
👉 Get my weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/MFPnews
👉 MFP Wealth Management: https://www.mfpwealthmanagement.co.uk/
👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinking-online-retirement-planner-ifa/
👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustinKingCFP
⚠️ This podcast is for information and entertainment only. Nothing on this podcast constitutes financial advice. Please do not make any decisions based on the contents of my podcasts; seek professional independent financial advice first!
Reading is a huge passion of mine as I am really interested in the insight of others. I love to learn about people’s stories and their lives. I’m driven to read due to a fascination of people’s journeys.
In this episode I am sharing with you my must reads for this summer, in my view these books are interesting, insightful and provide much food for thought – I hope you will agree!
I have also suggested some YouTube videos & podcasts, both are a valuable resource to me and provide access to some great minds and points for discussion.
So lay back on your sun lounger and enjoy working your way through my recommendations, and don’t forget to let me know what you think. You can email me at hello@theretirementcafe.co.uk or use the links below to connect.
USEFUL LINKS
How They Succeeded Life Stories of Successful Men Told by Themselves, by Orison Swett Marden (98p on Kindle) https://amzn.to/46q0t50
The Path of Least Resistance: Learning to Become the Creative Force in Your Own Life, by Robert Fritz (on Audible) - https://amzn.to/3Xu40uU
A Man for All Markets: From Las Vegas to Wall Street, How I Beat the Dealer and the Market, written by Edward O. Thorp - https://amzn.to/3CRUEzJ
Change Your Brain: Neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman | Rich Roll Podcast, on YouTube: https://youtu.be/SwQhKFMxmDY
Walter Isaacson Elon Musk Twitter Space FULL – Video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/-yhuiovST4A
Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography, by Walter Isaacson - https://amzn.to/44j7V0x
Leonardo Da Vinci, by Walter Isaacson - https://amzn.to/3Ny36sJ
Practical Tax Planning For Property: Jargon-free advice for investors and developers, by Alan Pink - https://amzn.to/46qnswN
The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America, by Lawrence A Cunningham, Warren Buffet - https://amzn.to/3NUiuRy
Podcast: The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett, on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-diary-of-a-ceo-with-steven-bartlett/id1291423644
CONNECT WITH ME
Thanks for checking out my YouTube channel - I’m Chartered and Certified Financial Planner Justin King and I help people to retire successfully.
📘 Download my book, Ready, Steady, Retire:
https://wb198-89a1ad.pages.infusionsoft.net/
https://www.theretirementcafe.co.uk/
👉 Get my weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/MFPnews
👉 MFP Wealth Management: https://www.mfpwealthmanagement.co.uk/
👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinking-online-retirement-planner-ifa/
👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustinKingCFP
⚠️ This podcast is for information and entertainment only. Nothing on this podcast constitutes financial advice. Please do not make any decisions based on the contents of my podcasts; seek professional independent financial advice first!
As a highly regarded financial adviser and an industry expert with over 30 years’ experience, Billy Burrows first joined me in 2019 to chat about all things to do with annuities.
Since we last spoke the annuity landscape has changed significantly and has become harder to beat as a solution for pension income. So, I welcome Billy back to talk about the pros and cons of buying an annuity versus entering pension drawdown to help you decide the best way to provide an income in your retirement.
Billy believes that many people are unknowingly throwing income down the drain due to a lack of understanding. Intuitively people may think that drawdown is the “best thing since sliced bread”. But, in reality, and especially now that interest rates and bond yields have increased, an annuity is actually a very hard act to beat!
Listen here to find out why this is the case!
USEFUL LINKS
Find out more about Billy: www.williamburrows.com
Billy’s previous episodes on the podcast:
Pension freedoms: https://www.theretirementcafe.co.uk/episodes/pension-freedoms
Annuities: https://www.theretirementcafe.co.uk/episodes/william-burrows
CONNECT WITH ME
Thanks for checking out my YouTube channel - I’m Chartered and Certified Financial Planner Justin King and I help people to retire successfully.
📘 Download my book, Ready, Steady, Retire:
https://wb198-89a1ad.pages.infusionsoft.net/
https://www.theretirementcafe.co.uk/
👉 Get my weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/MFPnews
👉 MFP Wealth Management: https://www.mfpwealthmanagement.co.uk/
👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinking-online-retirement-planner-ifa/
👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustinKingCFP
⚠️ This podcast is for information and entertainment only. Nothing on this podcast constitutes financial advice. Please do not make any decisions based on the contents of my podcasts; seek professional independent financial advice first!
This is an information-packed episode!
Kurt is a Partner at Lester Aldridge solicitors based in their Bournemouth office and heads up the Tax, Trusts, Wills and Probate team. Kurt was my first ever podcast guest at the Retirement Café back in 2018 and this is his third appearance. Today we are exploring tax and estate planning and how you can plan ahead in your retirement.
In our conversation we chat about the challenge presented by delays at various Government departments and the steps you can take:
-Registering Lasting Powrs of Attorney with the Office of the Public Guardian
-Applications to the Court of Protection
-Managing with delays to Probate
-Dealing with HMRC.
We also explore Inheritance Tax Planning, the difference between owning your property in joint tenancy or as tenants in common, and how to protect yourself from unscrupulous estate planning companies.
You’ll even hear how to create a ‘Dying Tidily’ log!
USEFUL LINKS
Get in contact with Kurt: https://www.lesteraldridge.com/our-people/kurt-lee-partner/
Kurt’s previous episodes on the podcast:
002 Avoiding Inheritance Tax traps: https://www.theretirementcafe.co.uk/episodes/kurt-lee
018 Make sure your estate qualifies for the Residence Nil Rate Band: https://www.theretirementcafe.co.uk/episodes/residence-nil-rate-band
Search the Land Registry: https://landregistry.uk/title-documents
CONNECT WITH ME
Thanks for checking out my YouTube channel - I’m Chartered and Certified Financial Planner Justin King and I help people to retire successfully.
📘 Download my book, Ready, Steady, Retire:
https://wb198-89a1ad.pages.infusionsoft.net/
https://www.theretirementcafe.co.uk/
👉 Get my weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/MFPnews
👉 MFP Wealth Management: https://www.mfpwealthmanagement.co.uk/
👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinking-online-retirement-planner-ifa/
👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustinKingCFP
⚠️ This podcast is for information and entertainment only. Nothing on this podcast constitutes financial advice. Please do not make any decisions based on the contents of my podcasts; seek professional independent financial advice first!
Chatting to me today is Dr Ben Hicks, Research Fellow at Brighton and Sussex Medical School. I first met Ben 5 years ago and invited him to be on the panel of one of our first Retirement Café events. Back then he was working hard to change the perception that dementia is no longer a death sentence in his role as psychologist and researcher with Bournemouth University Dementia Institute.
Although dementia is one of the most common and serious conditions society faces today with more than 800,000 people affected in the UK, Ben believes that with the right research technology and care, dementia sufferers can live well with the disease for many years.
As Co-ordinator of the DETERMIND research programme, Ben explains how the project looks at why care for dementia patients is unequal and the impact this has upon people’s health, level of comfort and happiness. Ben also shares some of his research findings and what this could mean for the future of care.
USEFUL LINKS
Find out about the DETERMIND study: https://determind.org.uk/
Take part in the DETERMIND study: https://determind.org.uk/take-part/
Listen to Ben’s first podcast: 005 The Big D – Why Dementia is not a death sentence: 005 The Big D – Why Dementia is not a death sentence
Email us for a copy of Ben’s latest research findings.
✔️ Subscribe to my Channel here https://www.youtube.com/c/JustinKingMFP/?sub_confirmation=1
🎙️ Subscribe to The Retirement Café Podcast here https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-retirement-caf%C3%A9-podcast/id1441976448
CONNECT WITH ME
Thanks for checking out my YouTube channel - I’m Chartered and Certified Financial Planner Justin King and I help people to retire successfully.
📘 Download my book, Ready, Steady, Retire: https://wb198-89a1ad.pages.infusionsoft.net/ https://www.theretirementcafe.co.uk/
👉 Get my weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/MFPnews
👉 MFP Wealth Management: https://www.mfpwealthmanagement.co.uk/
👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinking-online-retirement-planner-ifa/
👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustinKingCFP
This video is for information and entertainment only. Nothing on this channel constitutes financial advice. Please do not make any decisions based on the contents of my videos; seek professional independent financial advice first!
The FCA has issued a warning about the mismanagement of Asset Protection Trust Schemes. They’re concerned about the number of firms mis selling trusts on behalf of Trustees who don’t understand what they’re invested in or what benefits the trusts actually provide.
Asset Protection Trusts are trusts into which you typically transfer assets, often including your home, during your lifetime. Some people fall victim to unscrupulous or unqualified advisers who suggest these trusts provide specific protection from Inheritance Tax or are a good place to shelter your assets from any liability for paying care fees.
In this podcast episode, learn about the common traps people fall into when setting up Asset Protection Trusts, the genuine benefits they offer and reasons to consider one, and how to check whether your trust is suitable for you.
USEFUL LINKS
FCA’s ScamSmart website: https://www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart Society of Estate & Trust Practitioners: https://www.step.org/directory/members
Subscribe to my Channel here https://www.youtube.com/c/JustinKingMFP/?sub_confirmation=1
🎙️ Subscribe to The Retirement Café Podcast here https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-retirement-caf%C3%A9-podcast/id1441976448
CONNECT WITH ME
Thanks for checking out my YouTube channel - I’m Chartered and Certified Financial Planner Justin King and I help people to retire successfully.
📘 Download my book, Ready, Steady, Retire: https://wb198-89a1ad.pages.infusionsoft.net/ https://www.theretirementcafe.co.uk/ 👉 Get my weekly newsletter: https://bit.ly/MFPnews 👉 MFP Wealth Management: https://www.mfpwealthmanagement.co.uk/ 👉 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinking-online-retirement-planner-ifa/ 👉 Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustinKingCFP
This video is for information and entertainment only. Nothing on this channel constitutes financial advice. Please do not make any decisions based on the contents of my videos; seek professional independent financial advice first!
Laura Black successfully climbed the corporate ladder to become a successful attorney. When retirement hit, her descent down that same ladder was marked by loss and marginalization. She no longer possessed the CEO status she placed so much of her worth in, her children fled the nest for lives of their own, and she had to cope with the decline and eventual deaths of her parents.
Plus, well, aging, which is hard in itself.
In a nutshell, Laura discovered that as a mature woman, mother and wife, it can be harder to find true happiness after leaving a long-term career.
Laura’s first book, Big Butts, Fat Thighs, and Other Secrets to Success, empowered women to accept and use their vulnerabilities in forming critical business relationships.
Laura’s latest book, Climbing down the ladder, a journey to a different kind of happy investigates how woman can keep their identify after losing their business card.
In this episode Kathy & Justin chat about the important changes to the lifetime allowance announced in the Chancellor’s budget in March. It’s fair to say that the extent of the changes has taken the financial advice sector by surprise. It was widely anticipated that the lifetime allowance would be increased, but not fully abolished.
We aim to clear up any confusion about what this latest change to pensions legislation means for you, by reminding you first of the annual allowance rules and when the Tapered Annual Allowance and Money Purchase Annual Allowance take effect. The contribution limits for these two allowances have increased from £4,000 to £10,000, so it’s important to understand if you’re affected.
We also go into detail about the impact of scrapping the Lifetime Allowance Tax Charge, the change to tax-free cash levels (also known as the Pension Commencement Lump Sum), the anticipated scrapping of the Lifetime Allowance itself, and what this means if you have fixed protection in place.
We don’t have all the answers as yet, so this episode covers what we know to date.
I want to help my clients make the best possible decisions about their financial future, so over the years I’ve done a lot of research into how to make smart decisions. I’d like to share some of the insight I’ve gathered in this podcast.
The topic of decision making is vast, so I’m going to focus on one specific set of tools which I feel are incredibly powerful – that’s Mental Models.
I first came across Mental Models from Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger of Berkshire Hathaway fame. I share a story of Charlie using one of the models I share in this episode as far back as 1943, that of Inversion. The pair are renowned for using Mental Models to inform their decisions about which companies to invest in.
Mental Models are powerful tools that can help us make better decisions and navigate complex situations, as they provide a framework for understanding the world around us.
In this episode Kathy and I share three models: Inversion, Backcasting and Compounding, and how you can apply them to the decisions you make everyday.
Robin Wigglesworth is editor of FT Alphaville, the Financial Times’ financial blog, where he focuses on the biggest trends reshaping markets, investing and finance across the world.
Robin is also the author of a book called ‘Trillions – How a Band of Wall Street Renegades Invented The Index Fund and changed Finance Forever’. It’s been described as the definitive book on the past, present and future of passive investing.
Trillions is a riveting read for anyone interested in the story of index funds, which is a topic I’ve discussed with several guests on the podcast over the years.
Robin describes the index funds as one of the most disruptive inventions in the history of investing and he joined me on the podcast to explain why, with humorous anecdotes and stories, including Warren Buffet’s famous bet against any active manager to beat the index over a 10 year period.
We also chat about a concept known as index hugging or closet indexing, different types of index funds available, where Robin shares the story of value stocks, and how building a judicious portfolio can help make for a successful investment experience. Oh, and Robin shares the secret of FT Alphaville’s success (it’s free!).
Have you ever wondered how to go about tackling the tricky subject of getting older with loved ones who are doing just that? How to start those taboo conversations about whether dad should hang up his driving gloves, or what happens when an elderly friend or relative become incapable of living alone?
Then this episode is for you.
My guest, geriatrician Dr Lucy Pollock’s speciality and passion is the care of older people, and she has written a wonderful book – The Book About Getting Older. A book which gives its readers the power to have these difficult conversations.
We explore the important topics of movement, frailty, the ethics of getting older and how to ensure people retain their sense of personal power as they age. Part of that is recognising that older people are really repositories of history that we can all learn a huge amount from.
I hope you enjoy my conversation with Lucy.
How, in today’s world, where staying in touch with friends and family is easier than ever, are there STILL over 3 million chronically lonely people in the UK?
In my latest podcast I speak to Robin Hewings, Programme Director of The Campaign to End Loneliness. He sheds some light on why it is a serious and growing issue and what is being done to help re-connect individuals and communities.
You know, you could help lift someone out of loneliness with a simple wave or a quick hello, a more important gesture than you might think.
If you, or someone you know is impacted by loneliness then listen to discover the things you can do to help.
Cameron Passmore has been a leading advocate for evidence-based, systemic investing for over 20 years. He is Executive Chairman and Portfolio Manager at Canadian wealth management firm, PWL Capital and co-host of The Rational Reminder Podcast.
Cameron’s hugely successful podcast has featured some incredible guests from the world of investing and behavioural finance and aims to help make listeners better, more rational investors. His guests include investing research gurus Professor Ken French and Nobel Prize winning Eugene Fama.
I loved my conversation with Cameron. Unsurprisingly, we focused on the power of the stock markets, the timeless wisdom of investing in the great companies of the world, and how the ‘wisdom of crowds’ applies to investing behaviour.
Cameron shares his definition of evidence-based, systemic investing and some fascinating stories and insights from his many conversations with experts in this field. He also points us towards episodes of his podcast that offer real depth of insight into what makes for a successful investment strategy for your retirement.
If you’ve followed the podcast for some time, you’ll know that I’ve spoken with a couple of people from retirement villages about what they offer residents and why people should consider moving in. This week we will hear what it’s like from the inside.
I am really pleased to share with you a conversation I had with clients of mine, Nick & Jane Crowhurst.
In 2022, Nick and Jane moved from their home in Highcliffe to live in a retirement village in Hampshire. Nick is now 73 & Jane 62. They made the move quite early in their retirement because they wanted to move somewhere future proof that also allowed them to have a nice lifestyle with a ready-made community. After looking at a few options, they found Bishopstoke Park in Eastleigh.
In our conversation we talk about the many advantages living in a retirement village has for them including new friendships, and more activities available than they have the time to do, as well as the buying process and ongoing costs. They share the good and the bad, warts and all, of life in a retirement community.
This week’s interview is with three guests from the retirement home specialists, Inspired Villages. Lawrence Cramer is the People and Culture Director and was involved recently in setting up an initiative called Pensioner Personal Trainers with none other than the UK’s most famous ski jumper, Eddie the Eagle.
Eddie is famed for his can-do spirit in the face of hopeless adversity, so was the perfect person to front the initiative aimed at inspiring residents to keep moving and keep fit.
A recent study showed the importance of mature personal trainers, as 37% of Brits are more likely to frequent the gym if there are trainers and customers of a similar age group. With nearly 39% agreeing that their communities don’t have enough wellbeing and fitness facilities for the older generation (aged 65+), Eddie the Eagle came to the rescue to challenge this narrative and led a fitness session at Ledian Gardens, Inspired Village’s scheme in Kent along with fellow PPTs Lynne Thompson (75), and Instepp’s Julie Ford (68).
Julie and Lynne join our conversation and explain how older personal trainers can help make exercise more accessible for us as we get older.
Happy New year to you and thank you for joining me in 2023.
Let’s start the New Year on a high note, by dispelling some of the more common held beliefs about how awful it is getting older.
I feel that many people make assumptions about ageing and what it’s like to grow “old”, or how older age will affect them. The reality is that we won’t know until it happens to us, but some of our assumptions are probably true.
But so many of our beliefs come from socially accepted myths, and if you take the time to challenge them, you’ll realise that, for the most part, they’re simply not true. There’s no evidence.
It’s all too easy to pass by the positive aspects of ageing – of which I understand there are many. In this New Year episode Kathy will help me to bust 10 common misconceptions or beliefs related to ageing and older people.
As Christmas approached, I started to think about how Christmas changes as we get older so typed ‘Christmas and ageing’ into Google. I was bombarded with results about loneliness and isolation and how Christmas can exacerbate these very real problems.
It’s true that a lot of older people do say that their feelings of loneliness increase during the holidays, which is why campaigns from charities such as Age UK encouraging us to look out for elderly neighbours and helplines like Esther Rantzen’s Silverline are so important.
Whilst I appreciate that Christmas can be a very difficult time, I would like to offer a different perspective. If you're not completely looking forward to this Christmas, I hope to help you to see the silver lining in this festive cloud. Could it be that Christmas actually gets better as you get older? I think so.
So here are five ways that Christmas improves with age.
Jennifer is a US lawyer specialising in estates and trusts but what makes her unique is that over the years she has become an expert in Digital Asset Planning.
As an expert in this rapidly growing and increasingly complex area, Jennifer is a sought after speaker on digital assets and blockchain technology. She spends her time advising clients on how to build digital asset planning into their estate plan.
In our conversation Jennifer shares steps you can consider when reviewing your own digital assets, starting with explaining what digital assets are, as it includes everything from emails, texts, photos and videos…to cryptocurrency, Gaming tokens, YouTube royalties & social media accounts.
We also discuss what you can do today to get on the right path of digital asset planning and where to look for guidance. This is an exploding area without a one size fits all approach but I hope that listening to this podcast will get you thinking.
As the 4 year anniversary of the podcast’s launch was approaching I got to thinking about what I’ve learnt from the dozens of wonderful guests I’ve had the pleasure to chat with, and decided to collate a summary of what - to me - seem to be the things that make for a successful retirement.
Looking back over the conversations I’ve had there are some clear themes that come up time and again, which I summarise in this episode. I also reference specific episodes where these themes are discussed the most.
The themes can be split into three groups: purpose, planning and looking after yourself and I talk through them in what feels like a chronological order.
They are: Redefining retirement, Having a purpose, It’s never too late, The brain and understanding how it ages, Taking control of your health and well-being, The Big D, Planning for a 30-year retirement, Investing, and Navigating the care system & the end of life.
Ben is a neuroscientist, psychology lecturer, speaker and author specialising in how the brain works.
In fact, he’s spent 20 years researching the brain and has a special interest is how the brain changes during the perimenopause and menopause stages of life.
Until fairly recently, the menopause has not been discussed widely, but that’s certainly changing, thanks to some high-profile celebrities like Davina McCall campaigning for better education and access to HRT.
So my conversation with Ben feels quite timely. Ben explains how – contrary to popular belief - the menopause is a neurological process and how the hormonal changes have a tangible effect on a woman’s brain. He also explains why some of the common symptoms occur, the latest thinking on HRT, and why the timing of the menopause seems to be a design fault for women.
Laura Page is an artist, photographer, photojournalist and socially engaged practitioner. That means she uses art and photography as a way to help people to express themselves, have their own voice and share their views within their community.
Liverpudlian Laura’s focus is on society and politics, aiming to produce work that leads to positive social change. She has a particular interest in the older age group and has recently completed an important project called ‘Hidden Depths’, funded by winning the Rebecca Vassie Memorial Award.
Hidden Depths involved Laura photographing and gathering the stories of 31 over-80-year-olds, to show the rich lives many older people live. She wanted to challenge the ageist stereotypes we see too often. Laura saw first-hand how these 80 and 90 year olds were living a third or fourth new lease of life.
Hidden Depths led to further film projects and Laura’s beautiful, inspiring photos being used in projects such as the Stop Ageing campaign.
This week we return to our series on the 9 Accelerators for a Successful Retirement for the final time – to discuss the really important topic of Staying on Track.
Scroll down to find links to all previous episodes in this series.
I spend a lot of time with clients helping them work out what they want their retirement to look like, building a financial plan to support that life, then structuring their assets to be as tax efficient as possible. I also work with them to create a legacy plan, combat IHT, plan how to fund care that might be needed in later life, and implement an investment strategy that will give them the best chance of success.
But what then?
To some degree, the most important work starts - helping my clients stay on track for a successful retirement. The plan is in place, but goals move, circumstances change, markets rise and fall (sometimes abruptly), and all the assumptions in our financial plan may have shifted.
So Staying on Track means reviewing and updating the plans to reflect what’s new. It also means helping clients to be disciplined and stick with their investment strategy, in spite of the market noise and what’s going on around them.
Hello and welcome to this week’s episode, where I am excited to be joined by Dr Ben Webb. Ben is a neuroscientist, psychology lecturer, speaker and author specialising in how the brain works.
Ben has spent 20 years researching how the brain works – so he knows his stuff - and now shares this knowledge via his podcast and courses to help us deepen our understanding of how the brain ages. His aim is to allow us to take control of our own brain health. And there’s an amazing amount within our control.
In our conversation Ben shares the 6 pillars of a healthy brain in detail, including some interesting statistics about how the food we eat can reduce our mental decline by up to 30%. It’s similar when it comes to the impact exercise can have, as well as how we manage stress, the critical role of good sleep and how to build up cognitive reserves.
I’ve chatted with many guests about what we can do physically to stay healthy into later life, but much less about what we can do to keep our brains healthy. This is a really rich conversation with so much insight.
Now, as you know, in my day job I help people retire successfully, so a major part of the work that I do is helping people to have a successful retirement experience. To that end I have spent many hours researching and developing an investment philosophy that I believe gives my clients the best chance of achieving their financial goals.
A few individuals and companies have had a significant influence on my thinking over the years and few more so, perhaps, than Jack Bogle and the investment giant Vanguard.
So I am delighted to have had the opportunity to chat recently with the author of a new book about the history of Jack Bogle, Eric Balchunas.
Eric is an author and a Senior ETF Analyst and Funds Product Specialist with Bloomberg, the global leader in business and financial data, news and insight. In our conversation he explains what his role involves and why he became so fascinated with Jack Bogle.
We chat about Eric’s latest book ‘ The Bogle Effect’, and why Bogle’s radical idea to turn Vanguard into an investment company for the people, by the people has had such a wide-reaching impact not only upon the investor community, but upon other completely unrelated industries.
Duncan is an author, speaker and self-confessed Morris dancer. Having spent more than 20 years of his life over-doing it, he now spends his time helping people push over-indulgence out of their lives.
In our conversation Duncan confesses how strictly speaking he’s drunk more than his fair share of wine and eaten more than his fair share of cake. He shares his formula for overcoming indulgence and how he has created a programme to help others do the same.
We also chat about his new book, ‘Get Over Indulgence: Take control, find your stress-free life’, which is a humorous, yet equally serious, depiction of his daily battles with junk food and alcohol, and how he found a way through.
Duncan is an author, speaker and self-confessed Morris dancer. Having spent more than 20 years of his life over-doing it, he now spends his time helping people push over-indulgence out of their lives.
In our conversation Duncan confesses how strictly speaking he’s drunk more than his fair share of wine and eaten more than his fair share of cake. He shares his formula for overcoming indulgence and how he has created a programme to help others do the same.
We also chat about his new book, ‘Get Over Indulgence: Take control, find your stress-free life’, which is a humorous, yet equally serious, depiction of his daily battles with junk food and alcohol, and how he found a way through.
Renowned public health pioneer, Professor Sir Muir Gray, returned to the podcast to discuss his latest book - Increase your Brainability and reduce your risk of dementia.
The evidence is mounting and momentum is building behind the idea that we have a significant amount of control over our risk factors for developing dementia, from protecting our brain tissue to keeping the blood flowing, and Sir Muir shares the latest research with me.
He believes the prevention revolution is finally happening and explains how his new educational programme will be rolled out via the NHS encouraging people to ask for new trainers instead of chocolates on those milestone 60th, 70th or 80th birthdays.
There are a host more golden nuggets about his Optimal Ageing and Living Better Longer initiatives contained in this episode, so I hope you feel inspired and enjoy my conversation with Professor Sir Muir Gray.
David Adams is a filmmaker (https://davidadamsfilms.com.au/) and photojournalist with a string of incredible documentaries under his belt. He specialises in expeditions to remote regions.
He has a passion for archaeology, anthropology and history, which has taken him to exotic locations worldwide including Iran, Siberia, the Pacific Rim, Northern and Central Africa in search of indigenous peoples and their disappearing cultures.
David even served as a war correspondent in Afghanistan and Georgia for a period.
Alongside travel industry expert David Mannix, David founded Arcadia Expeditions to create truly immersive and authentic travel experiences.
In our conversation David shares his passion for adventure and investigating the world around us, he explains Arcadia Expeditions’ mission and the types of trips they organise, and why he believes meaningful and purposeful travel experiences can act as a catalyst for a more fulfilling life.
So if you are seeking more adventure in your life, I’m sure you’ll enjoy my conversation with David Adams.
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This is Jacqueline’s second time on the podcast – she appeared in episode 40 back in the summer of 2019. She is the founding director of My Care Consultant, a market-leader in helping people navigate the care system, and she is a fountain of knowledge in all things care related. I was delighted when Jaqueline agreed to come back and talk to me about NHS Continuing Healthcare.
It’s a complex and often controversial topic because it’s a benefit that seems to be so hard to secure. Currently only around 53,000 people in England are receiving NHS Continuing Healthcare funding, which perhaps reinforces its reputation as one of the most difficult benefits to claim successfully.
Well Jacqueline hopes to help change that. In our conversation she explains exactly what NHS Continuing Healthcare is and what the eligibility criteria are. She explains how to apply, what you can expect from the application process and, crucially, how to prepare to have the best chance of success.
We also chat about some of the challenges you are likely to face during the application process and how to overcome them.
This week we return to our series on the 9 Accelerators for a Successful Retirement – this is the 8th out of 9 episodes and we’re talking about legacy planning.
Scroll down to find links to all previous episodes in this series.
The terms estate planning and legacy planning are often used interchangeably, and there is some cross-over. In my view, the aim of estate planning is to reduce the burden on your loved ones at the end of your life and after you’re gone. So that ensures making sure your will, expression of wish, powers of attorney and any trusts are up to date. This should allow you to die organised. (Listen to my episode on estate planning here).
Legacy planning, however, is about leaving behind a legacy that makes a difference where it matters most to you.
In this episode Kathy and I chat about what to consider when deciding what you want your legacy to be, including charitable giving, passing on values and beliefs, and why we shouldn’t wait until death to define our legacy.
Anthony Delauney is a Certified Financial Planner based in the USA and author of three financial education books, based on the ides of ‘Owning the Dash’. He was inspired to create the concept by his late cousin.
In his work Anthony applies the concept of a fitness master to the art of family financial planning. He believes we need to develop a mindset necessary to own the dash between our start and end dates in life - to take control of our futures. And getting a grip of our finances is an important part of the philosophy.
So Anthony helps families to make sense of and manage their money. He tackles the topic of retirement planning in his book ‘The No-Regrets Retirement Roadmap’ and how to teach children important money lessons to children with his ‘Dash and Nikki’ and ‘Lily and May’ children’s books.
Lisa Robinson, ex-Amazon executive, is the founder of Companiions - an online service that allows people to find support, assistance and company for themselves or their loved ones, helping them to stay connected.
It really is an amazing solution for those with elderly parents or family members who they feel might be a little isolated, but not yet ready for full on personal or medical care per se. What they really need is companionship, or someone to do a job or task for them that’s become a little too challenging.
In our conversation Lisa explains her inspiration for setting up Companiions after years working for big corporates like Amazon and Sky. We also chat about how the service works, why the pandemic acted as a rocket-booster for her business, and the kind of people who can offer companionship or may be looking for it.
She tells stories of people from all sorts of backgrounds who have become companions to others, explains how their Companiions for Business service works, and how the charitable giving aspect of Companiions is growing.
Katie Waldegrave MBE is co-founder of Now Teach, an organisation aiming to encourage more experienced people into teaching. She met ex-finance journalist, Lucy Kellaway six years ago who was considering shifting career to become a teacher.
Given life is getting longer and our career patterns are changing, many people no longer expect – or want to – completely retire in their sixties. In the face of a teacher recruitment crisis, Katie believes that Now Teach can be part of the solution.
The charity aims to bring older people into classrooms - and keep them there long term. To the children they bring wisdom, experience of the world, perspective and careers advice. To the system they bring knowledge of other sectors, fresh ideas and status.
Experienced teacher and author Katie explains how Now Teach trains and supports career changers as they take the leap of faith into teaching as a second career. We chat about what makes an ideal teacher and the challenges and benefits of becoming a teacher in later life.
If you are considering a change of career, then this episode is for you.
Katie is also the founder of First Story, a charity that helps young people discover what it means to have a voice, while developing the skills and confidence to thrive in education and in life through writing.
Jamie Bunce is the CEO of retirement living operator Inspired Villages, a set of later living communities across the UK that have a focus on wellbeing and independence.
Jamie is passionate about how retirement communities can help retirees maintain their wellbeing as they get older. He hopes that preventative care will not only better the quality of life for the residents living in Inspired Villages, but also reduce the pressure on our NHS. Jamie strives to keep the physical, psychological, social and financial wellbeing of the residents at the forefront of everything Inspired Villages does.
In our conversation Jamie shares the importance of Inspired Villages’ core value of always having time for a cup of tea, how the pandemic has brought home to people the importance of connecting with others regularly, and how Inspired Villages’ communities deliver on being far more than just bricks and mortar.
He also explains the rental and purchase options and the costs involved in living in one of Inspired Villages complexes.
Jamie and I recorded this conversation a few months ago now and since then, Inspired Villages has gone from strength to strength. They now have 7 villages up and running, as opposed to the 6 mentioned in our conversation – with 3 more on the way. Inspired Villages is also now backed by a joint venture partnership between Legal & General and NatWest Group Pension Fund.
Julie Robinson is an award-winning fitness expert who has dedicated her career to motivating thousands of people to keep active in later life.
She has done this not only by being the fitness expert for a couple of women’s magazines, but over the past 12 years she has run Move it or Lose it, the company she founded to actively help older people get moving.
In our conversation Julie shares the story behind her hugely successful enterprise, how it works and the scientific evidence behind the importance of maintaining our strength, balance and flexibility as we age – as Chris Tiley also endorsed on the podcast recently in his book ‘Never Too Old to Lift’.
We also touch upon her most recent venture, MenoHealth – a support and fitness programme designed to empower and support women going through the menopause.
Chris Tiley is a physiotherapist based in Birmingham who has experience of working in hospitals, private practice and with elite sports people.
He has a passion for strength training and its benefits for the over 60s, which came from observing his clients’ experiences of pain and suffering.
So, along with offering strength training advice and coaching at his physio practice, Chris has written a book called Never Too Old To Lift and has a blog of the same name.
I am a fan of strength training myself and have been working with a coach for over a year now, so I really enjoyed chatting with Chris about his book and what he’s learnt about the benefits of strength training as we age.
If you’re keen to stay strong, fit and mobile as you get older, then this episode is for you.
Will Rainey is a writer and speaker focused on helping parents teach their kids about money.
He has been living in Vietnam with his young family since 2019 after making the life changing decision to quit corporate life. The move was made possible by his lifelong habit of saving and investing, which gave him an idea for a new business.
Having been an investment consultant and actuary, Will now focuses his attention on helping parents and grandparents to teach their children and grandchildren about money through his business, Blue Tree Savings, and his recently published book, Grandpa's Fortune Fables.
Will’s website, bluetreesavings.com, has helped thousands of parents start talking to their kids about money.
He chats with me about the power of stories to engage and educate young minds.
This is Suzanne’s third appearance on the podcast sharing her latest entrepreneurial idea. Over the years she has carved out a career in a variety of different industries, from baby slings to time saving apps, to the TV industry.
Suzanne’s focus is now on challenging the narrative around ageing and she has launched a series of businesses to do just that, from the social enterprise ‘Advantages of Age’ to Startup School for Seniors, which we heard about in last week’s episode.
Her most recent business idea is aimed, again, at the over 50s and is called Nestful. They help the over 50s to find the perfect housemate, by matching lodgers of any age with homeowners over 50.
Seniors with spare rooms can use the online forum to safely find suitable houseguests to make their spare space work hard and to have company from someone with similar interests and values.
Suzanne is a serial entrepreneur who has had a diverse career which included PR for big entertainment brands, founding a TV company, creating a baby sling company and launching money saving app Frugl.
I interviewed Suzanne for the podcast back in 2019 to talk about Advantages of Age, the social enterprise she founded after attempting to join the London technology start up industry and realising she was the oldest person in the room.
Suzanne is back to talk about one of her latest ventures; co-founding ‘Startup School for Seniors’. The aim of her latest not-for-profit is to help the over 50s turn their business ideas into reality in just 8 weeks.
In our conversation, Suzanne shares the story behind this idea, how Startup School for Seniors works and real life examples of people who have got their business ideas off the ground as a result.
After running her own digital communications company for 30 years, Victoria noticed that a lot of senior employees were being recommended to her as they tried to create new roles for themselves in their retirement.
She spotted a pattern, noticing that these people didn’t want to be retired, but they did want to leave behind their full-time corporate job.
So, Victoria launched Next-Up; a company that helps anyone over 50 find purpose through a new role in the next stage of their lives. This may be as a Non-Executive Director, in a consulting role, or a part-time position.
Through webinars, workshops, events and guides, Victoria and her team are turning 70% of people from feeling apprehensive about their retirement to excited about the opportunities ahead. In the past few years Victoria has discovered the wealth of knowledge and experience that this generation has to offer and has developed a passion for finding ways to encourage anyone not wanting to retire to follow their passions and start “unretirement”.
In our conversation Victoria shares her story of setting up Next-Up, some of the success stories, and her vision for the future of her company and her generation.
Every so often, you come across someone in life who is quite simply inspirational. Kevin Webber is one of those people. Back in 2014 life seemed to be ticking along nicely for Kevin, until he received a diagnosis that shook his world.
He was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer.
Not willing to accept his fate without a fight, Kevin did what he knew how to do best: put one foot in front of the other and started running. It’s fair to say that he’s never stopped to look back.
But he has used his diagnosis and his drive to remain fit and well to raise thousands for Prostate Cancer UK, and has become one of their leading spokespeople and fundraisers.
I’d like to share my conversation with Kevin with you today. We chat about life before and after cancer, his fundraising mission, some of his running challenges and his book ‘Dead Man Running’.
I hope you find this conversation as inspiring as I did.
Since the 1950s, there has been a lot in research into the best way to invest, and the findings have been remarkably consistent. Yet very few people seem to follow the advice backed up by this evidence.
Robin Powell started his career as a journalist, as he stepped away from a career in Television, his eyes were opened up to a whole new world, passive investing.
Robin’s scepticism was quickly replaced by fascination and belief in this way of investing and since this project, he has focused on educating the public about this simple way of investing as The Evidence Based Investor.
He recently co-wrote a book called Invest your Way to Financial Freedom, a short, easy to read book to show the benefits of investing in index funds to be able to have a retirement that you want.
In our conversation, Robin shares what evidence-based investing is and why he believes so strongly in this way of investing. We also have a discussion about risk and volatility and how they shape this investing philosophy.
Over the past year, 47% of grandparents invested more for their grandchildren.
It isn’t clear if this is linked to the pandemic and our spending patterns, but what is clear are the huge benefits of doing this.
Some research by NatWest shows that while three quarters of parents save for their children, around 83% of them stick to the “safe” option and save with cash plans.
But this isn’t safe, as the impact of inflation means that the purchasing power of these safe cash balances actually goes backwards over the longer term, which is a real danger considering that investing for children or grandchildren is generally for the long term.
There are a few products available for investing for children. The two main options are a Child SIPP or a Junior ISA. Each product has different advantages and disadvantages.
For this week’s episode, I discuss these two products, how they work, their benefits and drawbacks and any tax rules that surround them. I also touch upon the various types of Trusts you could put in place for you grandchildren.
The beginning of January is the time when so many of us make resolutions to do things differently, to live our lives in a different way, make changes, quit a bad habit or start something new.
Not least in the world of personal finance. So many people start the year with great intentions – they plan to pay off debt, save more for retirement, or get a grasp of their pensions. But are these the right things to be tackling?
It can be hard to create a plan for mastering your money if you’re not really sure where the priorities lie.
So in this episode I want to make you aware of the big priorities when it comes to personal finance and specifically retirement planning – these are the things you may want to tackle in 2022.
It all starts with awareness – I aim to help you feel more aware of any planning issues you may have, aware of how things could be instead, and ultimately aware of what you can do to bring about the change you want or need. I want this episode to be actionable and highlight the steps you can take to address any issues you might uncover.
Dementia is not a new topic to the podcast. It is something that I have had various discussions around because I know how much of a concern it is for many people.
52% of people in the UK are affected by this cruel syndrome. But Grace Meadows brings some hope for improving the lives of those living with dementia.
Having found a passion for playing the bassoon as a child, Grace went to a music school to train as a professional bassoonist. In doing so she realised her love of music came from interacting with people through it, not from performing it.
For the last decade she has worked as a qualified music therapist in a variety of health, social care and educational settings with children and adults of all ages.
Grace is currently Campaign Director for Music for Dementia, a national campaign calling for music to be an integral part of care for everyone living with dementia, which is what she’s here to discuss today.
In our conversation Grace shares her passion for music and its vast benefits, she explains why and how music connects, and why she believes music is a necessity for people living with dementia.
This week we return to our series on the 9 Accelerators for a Successful Retirement – this is the 7th out of 9 episodes and we’re talking about estate planning.
Most people will probably think that this is solely to do with mitigating tax, but estate planning is a vast topic, but in a nutshell, estate planning is about ensuring your Will and any expression of wishes are up to date, you have Powers of Attorney in place, and any trusts are still relevant or put in place if needed.
There is a lot to discuss in estate planning, so in this episode I will aim to discuss the main principles and what I believe you consider when tackling your own estate planning.
You can’t have failed to hear about the DB pension transfer mis-selling scandal that affected many ex-British Steele workers or missed the numerous pension and investment mis-selling cases that have hit the headlines in recent years.
Philippa is a lawyer and partner in the financial services litigation team at Clarke Willmott, where she specialises in the mis-selling of investment products and negligent investment advice. Philippa has significant experience in acting for and against financial advisers in consumer complaints that have been made to the Financial Ombudsman. And her biggest project to date is working on behalf of around 1000 British Steel workers who were advised to transfer out of their British Steel final salary scheme.
In this conversation Philippa shares her experience of working with those affected by the British Steel scandal. We also discuss how the financial services compensation scheme works, what to look out for if you feel you’ve received negligent advice, and the benefits of taking advice versus going solo.
Having promised herself that she wouldn’t be returning to the male dominated industry of finance, Carole found herself sat at a Tax conference, training to be a financial planner, once again surrounded by men.
After hearing the age old stereotype of the woman wanting to spend the money on a kitchen and the man wanting to invest it, Carole questioned her part in the financial industry. But rather than be defeated by the gender stereotypes, she decide to work to defeat them.
Carole figured that while she can’t force women to have an interest in investing, she could get them talking about money. So, she set up some workshops with women to help them voice their concerns, and learn about investing and planning for their future.
In our conversation, Carole chats with me about some of the patterns she has noticed since becoming a financial adviser. She gives us some advice on what women can be doing to start getting an understanding of investing, and her wishes for the women in finance in the future.
Dennis is well-known in the world of financial planning as one of the good guys. When I set up MFP Wealth Management 12 years ago, Dennis was one of the experienced and well-respected financial planners that I looked up to and who helped me on my journey to creating the business I have today. He has always offered sage advice, drawn from his 35 years in the financial advice professional.
But Dennis hasn’t always been in financial services. He started his career in the Royal Marines before joining financial services and ultimately setting up multi award-winning Yellowtail Financial Planning in 2006. Maybe his spell in the Marines is what drives him to take on new challenges, most notably the infamous Marathon des Sables – a 250km epic run through the Sahara. Dennis is also a published author and often quoted in the consumer and professional press.
In our conversation Dennis shares his personal story and why he embarked on a hot, deadly run across the vast Sahara Desert for a second time at the age of 60 in October this year.
A few weeks ago Holly joined us on the podcast to discuss what happens when you die without a will in place.
This week we welcome Holly back to discuss the rules of making gifts when you are acting in the role of an attorney under a Power of Attorney.
Most people want to mitigate the inheritance tax their estate will pay, and this need becomes more important as people get closer to the end of their life, even when they have lost mental capacity.
One way to reduce inheritance tax is to gift some of your asset. But there are some complex rules around gifting, especially if you are gifting on behalf of someone when acting as their Power of Attorney.
Holly is a solicitor who specialises in the Court of Protection and Mental Capacity. She is part of the Wills and Equity Committee at The Law Society which consults the government on issues around mental capacity and Lasting Powers of Attorney. She is a fountain of knowledge on this topic.
In our conversations we discuss the important role that attorneys play, how to understand what a donor’s “best interest” is and what this means for gifting, and the main rules for gifting when acting under a Power of Attorney.
The office of Fair-Trading estimates that 30% of over 65-year-olds have to fully fund their care in later life.
They also estimate that around 25% of those self-funding, run out of money.
These figures are likely to change, with the new health and social care levy that was announced on the 7th September 2021. But that announcement doesn’t change the importance of planning how you will fund care in your later life.
Once again, my wife and business partner, Kathy, is back with me to discuss the process of finding and funding care. There are many ways that you could fund care, as a self-carer, and we explore a few of the lesser-known options available.
For more in-depth information about care in later life, head over to my YouTube channel to watch my series all about finding and funding care.
We all know that we should be saving for our future. But we all make mistakes.
We all create bad habits, whether it is grabbing that coffee on the way to work or splashing out on the gadget that you don’t really need. Or we got sucked into a sales pitch while browsing in the shop.
Anne Caborn believes that understanding why we make the financial decisions we do and when we make them can help us make better financial decisions. So, she set up Money Fight Club with friend and fellow journalist Lindsey Cook.
Anne Caborn was a freelance journalist who has worked through the transition from print media to digital media. In the 1980s she was compiled the first British Rich List for Money magazine, which introduced her to the fascinating world of the psychology of money. The experience of writing this article inspired to found various projects that combined her passion for writing and finance.
In our conversation Anne talks about her experience of being a journalist and writing the first British Rich List. We discuss why she set up Money Fight club, why she believes it is important that we are aware of why we spend money as we do; and Anne shares a few tips you can use to make better decisions with money.
Do you know what a statutory will is, and when it would be applied?
Do you know what would happen if you died without a will?
Or would you know what would happen if you lost mental capacity and didn’t have a Power of Attorney in place?
Writing wills and putting powers of attorney in place can be emotional but once they are in place, they can provide peace of mind that your assets are going where you want them to go.
Holly Mieville-Hawkins is the head of the mental capacity group at Mitchell. She has spent her career making and defending applications in the Court of Protection to make sure people’s wishes are carried out once they no longer have capacity.
In our conversation, Holly explains the difference between a Power of Attorney and deputy. She then talks through the process of determining mental capacity and how to put a deputyship, and/or statutory will in place.
This episode is the first of two episodes recorded with Holly. The next episode is on gifting and will be released in a few weeks.
When someone dies, they can leave behind around 15-20 accounts to be closed.
The closure of these accounts becomes the responsibility of the loved ones left behind, meaning that while they grieve for the person lost, they also have to face the painful and stressful account closure process.
Vicky Wilson and her mother spent a total of 6 weeks trying to close down her grandmother’s accounts after she passed away in 2019. Having repeated the phrase “my grandmother’s dead” countless times, Vicky realised there was a gap in the market.
So, she and her mother founded Settld, a free private sector “Tell Us Once” service that aims to save other families from facing the same unnecessary difficulties, as they communicate with over 750 private companies on your behalf.
In our conversation, Vicky talks about the amazing work she and her team at Settld are doing to help those grieving close their loved one’s accounts. She also explains what bereavement standards are, and why industries should be working together to standardise the bereavement process.
We’ve all heard that ‘cash is king’, but is it when it comes to funding your retirement?
Inflation can ravage your retirement savings, which you need to grow to retain the value of your income in retirement. Which is why cash shouldn’t be the only way to hold your retirement money. The expected return on cash is much lower than the expected return on property, commodities, or equities. That is why asset allocation is such an important part of your retirement planning.
My wife and business partner, Kathy, is back with me this week to discuss what asset allocation is and how the different types of assets have different roles to play in your financial plan.
A diagnosis of dementia can be scary, not just for those suffering with the disease, but those close to them too. As the dementia progresses, communications skills can be lost and the loved ones surrounding the dementia patient often wonder how they can communicate with their loved one.
Dr Jane Mullins has spent her career working with people who have neuro degenerative conditions and researching dementia. After working in memory clinics and as a care home manager, Jane completed her PhD which centred around communicating with people who have dementia through sensory ways.
Her projected specifically explored using tourism memories and multi-sensory communication strategies to help couples rekindle their couplehood.
Using the knowledge from her PhD research and the experience gained from her career and research, Jane went on to publish a book Finding the Light In Dementia. The book offers support and help along the way when you or a friend or relative is diagnosed with dementia.
More recently Jane has set her sights to creating a training programme for families and care providers to teach them how to develop a connection between the individual requiring care and those providing it.
In our conversation Jane talks about what she learnt from her PhD research project, and how anyone can use photos and props to start an engaging conversation with someone suffering with dementia. She also shares her motivation behind setting up the training programme and why she believes it could make a difference to the dementia care industry.
Planning for later life can be difficult. Whether you are planning for your own future or for a loved one, the subject of growing old can be emotional and easy to avoid.
And it is often made even more difficult when you start researching and are bombarded with a ton of information comprised of technical terminology.
Jackie Cleveland was faced with this issue when her mother-in-law wanted to start thinking about her future. With very little information and understanding about the options available to them, Jackie undertook the task of researching.
She soon discovered that the there was a wealth of information out there but trying to sift through it all was a bit overwhelming. This experience inspired her to set up Podplan, a service that collates all the information one might need when researching and planning for later life.
In our conversation Jackie shares the story behind Podplan, how Podplan can help anyone looking to the future and why it is so important to plan for any event that might occur as you enjoy later life.
John MacGregor is an American financial adviser based in Hawaii. As he climbed the corporate ladder, John realised that the higher he was getting, the more miserable he was. So, he left the nice salary and corporate ladder behind to pursue his dream – transforming the world's relationship with money.
Having been brought up with great financial role models, John had always understood what it was to save money, but a lesson learnt while mowing lawns as a student helped him realise the importance of having savings and how just how much money plays a role in our dreams.
While living his dream of helping people change their relationship with money, John has written Why the Rich go Broke, a book that explores the mistakes people make with their money that leads them to living pay-check to pay-check.
In our conversation John shares some personal stories from his upbringing, he shares with us why we all need to be financially responsible for ourselves and how to achieve this. Throughout this episode, we delve into some of the core mistakes that people make, leading them to go broke.
If you are a fan of money-related podcasts or video blogs, you may know of this week’s guest already – it’s none other than Pete Matthew.
From flipping burgers in McDonalds to becoming Managing Director of Jackson’s Wealth Management, Pete followed a fairly classic career path. Until he started messing around with a video camera.
Knowing that the work he was doing with his clients at Jackson Wealth Management wasn’t making the impact on the universe that he wanted to make, Pete sat on the beach talking to his camera and posted the video on YouTube.
A decade later, he is now host of the award-winning podcast Meaningful Money – a podcast dedicated to helping anyone get their finances in order.
With the success of the podcast and YouTube channel, Pete has set up an online academy – The Meaningful Academy – which teaches you everything you need to, and should, know about money.
Pete joins me today to discuss what motivates him to run Meaningful Money, and why he believes everyone is capable of investing. We also delve into his recent retirement planning series, discussing why retirement planning is so important and the steps everyone should take when thinking about their retirement.
In planning for retirement, people often have dreams about the lifestyle they want to have once retired. Unfortunately, as we get older, our health starts to impact our ability to live the life we want to live.
But what if we could prevent or defer those age-related illnesses to extend the number of years lived in good health?
Hannah Thomson watched her gran deteriorate quickly after a dementia diagnosis and was struck by how little we do to try and encourage an active lifestyle for those early on in their retirement. But she found that money is often a barrier to people staying active and healthy as they age.
Her gran’s deterioration was a lightbulb moment and Hannah created The Joy Club, a membership site that offers discounts on a wide variety of activities, enabling retirees to have a joyful and social retirement.
A few months ago, we launched a new series called The 9 Accelerators of Successful Retirement Planning. The series covers the 9 steps in our Retirement Success ProgrammeTM. This week, my wife and business partner, Kathy, is back in the interviewer’s chair to quiz me on why investing is such an important part of retirement planning and what the difference is between investing for retirement and investing in retirement.
In our in-depth conversation, I explain the effects that inflation will have on your retirement, what investment risk is and why we need to keep our emotions out of investing.
So far in the series, we have discussed the importance of Life Priorities, Lifetime Financial Forecasting and Minimising Lifetime Tax. Next up will be Asset Allocation.
John Mathers spent his career working in marketing, branding and design. At the age of 60 he retired and in the past four years, he has carved out what he deems to be a successful retirement for him.
After a rebranding exercise opened the door to the problems faced by older people, John realised how much innovative design could help improve the lives of the older generations.
He has since worked with young designers to try and get them to understand the problems those in later life face and use that to design products that will enhance their lives.
He is now co-founder of Design Age Accelerator, a government funded initiative to help innovative designers which continues his work in innovative thinking and design in a field that has been neglected for many years – healthy ageing.
In our conversation we talk about Johns own approach to retirement, how he got into the field of ageing, and the incredible work Design Age Accelerator is doing to get young entrepreneurs to design products that will their help older people lead better lives.
Most of us don’t enter our careers with the aim of retiring early, and our guest this week certainly didn’t think early retirement would be an option when he stopped enjoying his career.
Chris Mamula qualified as a physiotherapist in Utah but quickly realised he did not want to stay in the industry for 30 or 40 more years. When his wife discovered she was pregnant, Chris dived into the world of personal finance and discovered the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) movement.
Having spent their entire marriage living off one salary and saving the other, Chris found that the maths and core values of the FIRE movement resonated with him.
Since discovering the FIRE movement, Chris has used his personal journey as inspiration to write about how others could live the best life possible and retire early. Partnering with others passionate about gaining financial independence, Chris has written a book Choose FI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence, and runs the blog Can I Retire yet?
In our conversation, Chris shares his attitude towards money, and how that has helped him, and his wife, reach financial independence and retire at the age of just 40 years old. Chris also talks to us about redefining retirement, and how you should live the life you want to at every stage of your life.
Family is something that most of us take for granted, especially as we get older and we start to rely on our children for help and support.
But for some, they don’t have that luxury. There are currently 1 million people over 65 who don’t have children, and that figure is expected to double by 2030.
But what does this mean? It means that over 1 million people will face struggles in everyday life that most of us won’t even bat an eye lid at. Who is there to help clean the house after an operation, or to phone the bank to sort out an issue or even to do the food shopping during a pandemic?
This week’s podcast guest, Kirsty Woodard, has spent the last 30 years working on issues around ageing. But in the past 7 years, she has turned her attention to helping those 1 million over 65s who don’t have children they can turn to for help.
In our conversation Kirsty shares with us the difficulties faced by those who can’t turn to their own children for help as they age, but more importantly, Kirsty tells us what needs to change so that those ageing without children can access the support they need.
In recent months, we have discussed the idea of ageing well and longevity a few times.
This week, we bring the topic back but with a slight twist.
Joining me this week is Dr Daniel Levitin.
Dr Daniel Levitin is a neuroscientist, musician and author. 15 years after dropping out of Massachusetts Institute of Technology to follow a career in music, Dr Levitin realised he no longer wanted to be part of the music industry and needed a career that was a bit more financially stable.
He went back to university and not only completed his bachelor’s degree but went all the way to getting his doctorate.
He is now the author of five books, His most recent book The Changing Mind looks into debunking some of the myths of ageing. From memory loss, to the ability to continue learning and creating new neurons, the book is a reminder that ageing isn’t as bad as it is made out to be, and that it is just a process of the mind changing.
In our conversation we chat about how he went from being a rather successful musician, to becoming a neuroscientist, we delve into the myths of ageing and what the truth really is, and Dr Levitin shares with us some personal stories which lead him to life changing realisations.
We also discuss how Dr Levitin recently returned to music, and the journey he has been on to record his own album. The release of his second album is pending.
To pre-order Daniel’s forthcoming album, send your address and $20 USD for the CD, $25 USD for vinyl, to PayPal.me/DanielLevitin or Venmo @DanielJLevitin.
If you are outside the US, please add another $15 for shipping to these prices.
Over the past couple of months, we have been releasing episodes in a new series called The 9 Accelerators of Successful Retirement Planning.
The series covers the 9 steps in our Retirement Success ProgrammeTM which include: Life Priorities, Lifetime Financial Forecasting, Minimising Lifetime Tax, Protecting your Legacy, Estate Planning, Care Funding, Well-Crafted Investments, Asset Allocation, and Staying on Track.
We have already discussed the importance of life priorities and lifetime financial forecasting.
This episode is the third in the series in which my wife and business partner, Kathy, is back in the interviewer’s chair to ask me all about minimising lifetime tax.
In our conversation, we chat about some of the concerns people have around tax as they approach retirement. I explain the impact retiring can have on how much tax you pay, and why it is important to look at tax paid over a lifetime rather than just in the present moment.
Tune in to hear which taxes you need to consider in planning for your retirement.
Have you ever thought about where our money came from?
We have! And so has this week’s guest, Jacob Goldstein.
Jacob is a correspondent and co-host at NPR – an independent, non-profit media organisation based in America. He co-hosts the radio show and podcast Planet Money, in which they try and explain the economy in a fun and relaxed way.
In 2008 Jacob was a successful journalist working at the Wall Street Journal covering healthcare. After realising he had no idea what was happening in the 2008 financial crisis, Jacob was told that he had been looking at money all wrong. Because money is fictitious.
This inspired him to learn more and dig deeper into the history of money around the globe. In doing so, he has written a fascinating book called “Money: The True Story of a Made-Up Thing” which tells the story of where our money system comes from.
In our conversation we chat about the inspiration behind the book and Jacob’s fascination with money. He shares some of his intriguing discoveries from the book and what he thinks of cryptocurrency.
Tune in to hear our conversation.
Over the last couple of months, I’ve shared a few podcasts from our series called ‘The Age of Resilience’, designed to support and promote the agenda of The Longevity Week, which took place in November.
This week I am delighted to continue the conversation on resilience with my guest Anna Dixon. Anna is Chief Executive of The Centre for Ageing Better, whose mission is to help everyone enjoy a better later life.
With a wealth of experience in social policy and years of observing our ageing population, Anna has written a book called ‘The Age of Ageing Better? A Manifesto for our Future’; a book that encourages us all to take action against the negative attitudes towards ageing.
Throughout the pandemic, Centre for Ageing Better also undertook research to find out the impact that COVID-19 and its consequential lockdowns have had on those between 50 to 70.
In our conversation, we chat about the much-needed work that the Centre for Ageing Better does, actions that need to be taken to help us live better for longer and the results of the research undertaken by the Centre for ageing Better to understand how COVID is impacting people between 50, to 70.
Before Christmas, we released the first episode of a new series called The 9 Accelerators of Successful Retirement Planning.
The series will cover all 9 steps of our Retirement Success Programme which include: Lifetime Financial Forecasting, Minimising Lifetime Tax, Protecting your Legacy, Estate Planning, Care Funding, Well-Crafted Investments, Asset Allocation, and Staying on Track.
In this first episode we discussed the importance of considering our life priorities.
In this episode my wife and business partner, Kathy, is back in the interviewer’s chair to ask me about the second of the 9 accelerators, Lifetime Financial Forecast
In the conversation, I chat about why we should all start financially planning for our retirement, what a plan should include and start pointing you in the direction of how you can start a plan.
Tune in to hear how anyone can start planning for their retirement.
We all know about physical, emotional and psychological abuse, and we all like to think that we could spot it happening. However, one type of abuse we rarely consider is financial abuse.
This week, I am joined by my friend Michelle Hoskins, founder of Standards International, which sets standards across the globe for financial services.
Over the past year, author and speaker Michelle has branched out into the areas of mental health and financial abuse. After a few personal events over the past couple of years, Michelle undertook a mental health course to gain the skill set to be able to spot and help those who might be suffering. She then went on to bring her passion to fight abuse into the field of finance, developing a course to teach financial planners how to spot financial abuse.
In our conversation Michelle shares her motivations for wanting to be able to help anyone who might need it. She defines financial abuse and gives us ways in which we can all be there for our family and friends, business partners, or even a stranger.
In last week’s episode, I took time to reflect on a few things that I have been grateful for this year. I shared some personal things, like being able to spend more time with my family over lockdown, and some global good news stories that didn’t quite make it into the news - thanks to pandemic craziness.
As we head towards the end of 2020, and with the dawning of a new year in just a few days’ time, I thought it'd be a good time to reflect on some of the positive discourses that have run through a number of my podcasts during the past 12 months.
I reflect on the great work that charities, such as of The Silver Line and Christchurch Food Bank have done across the country and across all kinds of sectors during one of the toughest years we have experienced.
In a time when our mental health was put to the test, I revisit conversations I had with a number of guests who showed us exactly how much exercise can impact our mental health, and our ageing process.
And I discuss the changing discourse and attitude that surrounds ageing, as more and more people are taking a positive point of view of having an ageing society.
Tune in to hear some of this year’s highlights.
This year has brought with it hardship and constant struggle. We have introduced a new lexicon into our everyday vocabulary with words such as COVID, social distancing and furlough being part of our daily conversations.
But Christmas is a time for celebration and joy, so it seems right to take time and reflect on what a year it’s been.
In this week’s episode, I want to share with you a few personal things I am grateful for as well as a few global good news stories that you might have missed in the chaos that COVID wrapped around us.
I chat about what I got up to in lockdown and share some of the positive stories out there that were missed by the mass media.
I hope you have a great Christmas, and encourage you all to take 5 minutes to think about what you are grateful for this year.
Over the years I’ve helped well over a hundred couples plan for the retirement they desire - and the retirement they deserve – and during this time we’ve created a clear framework for what needs to happen for clients to be able to retire with confidence, clarity and choice about how they spend their retirement.
We call this the Retirement Success Programme and it’s made up of what we call 9 accelerators – the areas we address when helping our clients plan for their retirement. We decided to create a series of podcasts about these nine accelerators to help you to identify any gaps in your own retirement planning.
The series will cover all 9 steps of our Retirement Success Programme which include: Lifetime Financial Forecasting, Minimising Lifetime Tax, Protecting your Legacy, Estate Planning, Care Funding, Well-Crafted Investments, Asset Allocation, and Staying on Track.
In this episode my wife and co-director Kathy joins me to discuss the first accelerator, Life Priorities.
We discuss why I feel it is important to plan for your retirement before it happens, specifically focusing on the importance of figuring out what your life priorities are and how I use the Kinder Institute of Life Planning methodology to help clients navigate their way around the endless possibilities retirement can offer.
After all, I believe that everyone deserves to live a fulfilling retirement.
Having gone straight into financial services at the age of 18, Catherine Morgan found herself in a managerial position at the young age of 28. But among the difficulties of managing those who had been in the business longer than she had, she also had the guilt that came with the £30,000 debt she had racked up.
In a time where she was suffering from low self-esteem, she believed that money could help her feel better and improve her self-worth.
After an insightful experience with her wardrobe, which helped her realise her emotions were triggering her spending in an attempt to boost her self-worth, Catherine set up her first business helping women to feel good about their bodies.
From there her entrepreneurship took flight and she now runs The Money Panel, an international company helping consumers and advisors with financial coaching; their biggest mission being to equip and prepare 1 million women to be financially resilient, reduce their financial anxiety and help them be financially independent.
Catherine also hosts “In Her Financial Shoe” a finance podcast for women, with the aim of opening up the discussion with women about finance.
Tune in to my conversation where Catherine explains how our emotions are behind all of our actions, and why money is not linked to our self-worth.
Dr Josie Perry is a Chartered Sport and Exercise Psychologist. Josie’s company Performance In Mind works with those in sport at all levels – including Olympians – and sometimes people on the stage or in high profile jobs, to help them overcome their barriers to success so that they can achieve their goals.
Author Josie talks about the moment she realised just how much of a difference her mindset could make to her performance – on the starting line of her first Ironman triathlon. From this epiphany, Josie went back to university to study sport psychology and has since competed many studies around the psychology of sport and exercise.
In her latest book, Josie writes about the psychology behind exercise in retirees. Having worked with Silverfit, she has gained a valuable understanding into what gets the current generation of retirees up and exercising regularly.
We discuss how understanding that the motivations and barriers to exercise differ at different stages of our lives can help us to better support people in exercise – at all times of our life.
A couple of weeks ago we shared the first in a series of podcasts designed to support and promote the agenda of The Longevity Week, which took place between the 9th and 13th of November. The title of this series is ‘The Age of Resilience’, which was the theme of this year’s event.
The Longevity Week is an initiative created by The Longevity Forum, whose co-founder Professor Andrew J Scott was my guest on the 100th episode of the podcast, discussing his best-selling books, which include The 100 Year Life. The aim of The Longevity Week is to promote dialogue and test ideas on the future of longevity.
So I’m delighted this week to share the second episode in this series with my guest Patrick Thomson. Patrick works for the Centre for Ageing Better and heads up the age-friendly employers programme. His focus is upon addressing ageism in the workplace and supporting employers to become age-friendly.
Having held roles previously in government Patrick is well placed to discuss the ageing agenda with regards to our working lives.
Tracy Blick is the Managing Projects Coordinator at Christchurch Food Bank Plus, where I live here in Dorset.
The Food Bank helps people who find themselves in crisis all of a sudden and cannot afford to buy food to feed their families.
The demand since the coronavirus impact hit has been incredible. In 12 weeks, the Food Bank has handed out around 6,000 food parcels, the equivalent to the number they would normally hand out in a whole year.
At 50, Tracy is the youngest amongst her team of 38 volunteers, most of whom are retired.
We chat about the different roles the volunteers adopt depending on their skills and experience, why they get involved and how she teaches that we should never underestimate the power of that first tin the volunteers hand to people in need. It’s often the first step on the journey to a better place.
This series is designed to support and promote the agenda of The Longevity Week, which takes place this week - between the 9th and 13th of November.
The Longevity Week is an initiative created by The Longevity Forum, whose co-founder Professor Andrew J Scott was my guest on the 100th episode of the podcast. The aim of The Longevity Week is to promote dialogue and test ideas on the future of longevity.
One of the speakers is Tina Woods.
Tina’s credentials in the longevity arena are vast. She is co-founder and CEO of Longevity International, a social enterprise that brings together industry, academic and government stakeholders to drive both discussion and positive change around the longevity agenda.
Tina also leads the All Party Parliamentary Group for Longevity, which launched ‘The Health of the Nation Strategy’ supported by Secretary of State for Health and Care Matt Hancock, earlier this year.
She also founded Collider Health, a social enterprise aiming to inspire and equip young people with the science and technology skills for the future, and recently published her book ‘Live Longer with AI: How artificial intelligence us helping us extend our healthspans and live better too’.
Have you ever wondered how the financial experts and pundits who advise on how we should invest our money do, indeed, invest their own?
An unprecedented new book from behavioural finance expert and founder of the financial wellness platform Shaping Wealth, Brian Portnoy, and co-founder and chief executive of Ritholtz Wealth Management, Joshua Brown, changes all that.
In ‘How I Invest My Money: Finance Experts Reveal How They Save, Spend and Invest’ 25 high-profile industry experts - including the authors - share the ‘whys’ and ‘hows’ of their investments.
Brian joins me on the podcast to explain how the contributors’ personal stories help reinforce the idea that every situation is unique, and investing is a matter of perspective. Virtually every essayist in the book offers an unapologetic example of investing in something that defies the laws of financial logic, which proves there are many ways to invest and that perspective is key.
With engaging illustrations by previous podcast guest Carl Richards, Brian’s book inspires readers to think creatively about their financial decisions and how money figures in the broader quest of a content life.
Series 6 ‘The Story of their Lives’: Episode 2.
Mark spent nearly four decades working in the law. Not intentionally.
He studied law at college to give him three more years to consider what he really wanted to do. He then spent forty years planning an exit, even though exiting law is difficult in practice.
Eventually, Mark realised that thinking about retiring from the law wasn’t productive, so instead Mark thought about what he wanted to retire TO.
In his book ‘And .. just like that: Essays on Life Before, During and After the Law’ and in our conversation, Mark shares his story of deciding to move on to what he calls the next season of life.
He explains why coaching support was so important in helping him transition successfully.
As a coach, Registered Life Planner and trainer with the Kinder Institute myself, Mark was preaching to the converted. I’ve seen first-hand on many occasions how beneficial coaching is for people of all ages going through a major transition in life, so it was great to hear how this helped Mark.
Seven years ago, Shannon McLay was working as a financial advisor with a big corporate bank feeling disheartened about the work she was during. The pro bono work she was doing helping people who couldn’t really afford her advice proved to be so much more fulfilling.
So Shannon founded The Financial Gym.
Based on a fitness-inspired approach to planning and managing your money, The Financial Gym aims to get 1 million people financially fit.
Shannon recognises the key to success for most people is having the on-going behavioural support to continue to make smart decisions about your money.
Tune in to hear Shannon’s story and more about The Financial Gym’s approach great financial health - regardless of your bank balance.
50 year olds today could be looking at another 50 years of life ahead of them, so it’s the perfect time to ask “What’s your 20 year plan?”
Do you find that question liberating or frightening?
Stuart Lewis, founder of Rest Less, joins me on the podcast to share the work that he is doing to inspire today’s generation of over 50s and 60s to get the most from life.
Rest Less focuses on lifestyle, learning, financial wellbeing, work, volunteering and community. And that includes helping people make sure they have their ladder against the right wall.
We discuss later life apprenticeships, volunteering and appreciating your transferable skills.
I am honoured to be joined by the pre-eminent authority on longevity and co-author of ‘The 100 Year Life’, Professor Andrew J Scott, to celebrate the 100th episode of The Retirement Café podcast.
Andrew J. Scott is Professor of Economics at London Business School and a consulting scholar at Stanford University’s Center on Longevity.
He is best known as the co-author of two groundbreaking books that have taken the world by storm: ‘The 100 Year Life’, published in 2016 and his second book with Lynda Gratton ‘The New Long Life’.
Through multi-award-winning research, writing and teaching, Professor Scott’s pioneering work and ideas inform a global understanding of the profound shifts reshaping our world and impacting us all, and envision the actions needed for us to flourish individually and as a society.
Board member and advisor to a range of corporates and governments, he is co-founder of The Longevity Forum, an organisation aimed at achieving healthier longer lives, and member of the Cabinet Office Honours Committee (Science and Technology).
We discuss Andrew’s books and what how we need to change our approach to life if we’re to live 100 years successfully.
In today’s episode we are revisiting a topic that I know many listeners are concerned about, and that’s making sure your voice is heard and understood at the end of life – even when you lose capacity to do so yourself.
Many things are outside of our control when it comes to how and when we finally shuffle off this mortal coil, but there are ways in which we can at least make our wishes known.
Sarah Malik is a Specialist Information and Support Nurse with the charity, Compassion in Dying. In our conversation she explains the difference between an Advanced Statement and an Advanced Decision and what these documents enable you to do.
She also explains how the Compassion in Dying charity can help you, without charge.
Mark Fitzgerald works for Vanguard, an investor-owned, leading asset management company. He is Head of Product Specialism in the ETF Stream. He joins me to talk about ESG investing.
ESG which stands for Environmental, Social and Governance, but Mark explains what each of these terms really means. He also outlines where the selection of ESG or other funds fits within the broader investing process.
We discuss how Vanguard builds investment portfolios that meet consumer demands, for example excluding munitions and tobacco, the challenges this brings and what investors should consider when deciding whether to pursue an ESG-friendly investment portfolio.
Mark explains Vanguard’s approach to some specific companies such as Apple and Tesla and whether Vanguard itself would make the ESG-grade!
This is a highly informative episode for anyone interested in investing and taking a more environmentally or socially responsible approach to investing.
Katrina Moss is one of those people who has had a really varied career both working for other people and for herself. She created four businesses of her own over the years in completely different sectors, so has shown her tremendous adaptability.
Friend and client Katrina shares the story of her life with a focus on the last decade, which was far from a gentle transition into semi-retirement.
She faced a plethora of challenges including moving house after 30 years in the same home, caring for her terminally-ill mum and subsequently sorting out her complex financial affairs and founding her latest venture – the UK’s biggest art competition exploring spirituality.
Katrina joins me to share her ethos of living into the fullness of everyday life.
Steve appeared in episode 87 back in July to discuss State Pensions in general and more specifically his recent report that explores whether thousands of older women are being short-changed on their State Pension. You can listen to that episode here.
If you’re not familiar with the name, Steve served as Pensions Minister in the coalition government of David Cameron for 5 years.
In this second episode, Steve and I discuss some of the major pension reforms he oversaw during his time with the DWP, including:
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the success story that is auto enrolment
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what’s worked about pension freedoms legislation introduced in 2015
Steve also shares the changes around pension legislation he would love to see coming next and what his retirement might look like in a few years’ time.
It's a common misconception that you make your will and that's the end of the matter. Sadly, for some families, they find out after they have lost a loved one, that that's not the case and the will can be challenged.
Research(1) suggests that almost a quarter of Brits would be prepared to contest a loved one’s will if they were unhappy with it. This is where this week’s guest comes in to help resolve those disputes.
Victoria Jones is Partner in the Disputed Wills, Charity and Dispute Resolution Teams at Lester Aldridge solicitors.
She joins me to explain the 4 main reasons people contest a will and how to deal with a will being contested at a highly emotional time.
Victoria also shares important tips on choosing an appropriate executor for your estate and steps you and your loved ones can take to avoid becoming part of a contested estate.
- Research conducted by Opinium among a nationally representative sample of 2,003 adults between 27th – 30th July 2018
The episodes of regular people telling us about their life in retirement have proven to be very popular. One of our very first episodes – number 4 in fact – of my conversation with clients and friends Nick and Debbie Taylor telling us what makes for a successful retirement for them, continues to be one of our most downloaded episodes.
So today we’re going to hear the story - so far - of another client and friend – Lindsey Froud.
Lindsey spent some years living in the Middle East before returning to the UK a few years ago. At this point, she decided to semi-retire at quite an early age. She shares with us today the importance of keeping working – on her terms, and why she tries to do something she’s never done before every month.
Sadly, since we recorded this episode Lindsey’s mother has passed away, so my sympathies go out to Lindsey and her family.
I am delighted to welcome Professor Keith Brown back to the podcast.
Keith is a government adviser on mental capacity as well as adult care and safeguarding. To that end Professor Brown sits on the Department of Health Adult Safeguarding Advisory Board and appeared in episode 89 just a few weeks ago to explain more about mental capacity.
Keith also leads the national research into financial fraud and scams and joins me to share his very personal story of how his own mother’s experience made him so passionate about helping protect older people from the growing prevalence of financial scams.
Professor Brown explains that whilst anyone can become a victim of financial fraud, isolation and loneliness are the biggest indicators and what practical steps we can all take to protect ourselves and our loved ones.
This week’s episode is a little different. I’d like to share with you a conversation I had during lockdown with a friend of mine, Jeremy Nicholas.
By profession, Jeremy is a writer and broadcaster with nearly three decades of experience on TV and radio, mainly with the BBC. But Jeremy has funny bones. So he has built a business as the man who puts serious laughs in serious talks.
In essence, he helps people make all sorts of presentations entertaining and engaging. I am sure that you can imagine how life in lockdown for someone whose business is about international public speaking and after-dinner talks has been somewhat different.
Jeremy shares his story of being grounded and his story of being the voice of FIFA for 11 seasons!
I hope you really enjoy my conversation with Jeremy, as much as I did.
From my experience helping people retire successfully, I would say there is still a tendency for the man in a relationship to lead discussions about money.
Now, that’s not always the case, and I’m sure the situation is changing among the younger generations.
But that was certainly the case for my wife’s parents, and in fact my mother-in-law, Anne, talks about the challenge she faced getting to grips with money matters after her husband died in episode 21 of the podcast. Take a listen when you have a moment, as it’s a great personal story.
So, I thought it would be interesting to create a series of episodes about women and wealth, starting with my conversation today with Mary Waring.
Mary is an award-winning chartered financial planner and chartered accountant who helps women to be financially confident and independent.
She specialises in supporting women through and after divorce but is recognised as being a leading light in all aspects of female finances.
The title of today’s episode – The Menopausal Mermaids – is possibly quite intriguing. To explain further I’d like to share with you a conversation I had with sea swimmer Nicole Morelli towards the end of April.
Nicole joined me from Portrush, which is a small seaside town built along a mile long peninsula on the north coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
She is the founder of a sea swimming group called the Menopausal Mermaids and shares her story of why she created the group and what you can expect if you decide to take the plunge with Nicole and her fellow cold water swimmers.
Take a listen here on episode 090 of The Retirement Café Podcast.
Professor Keith Brown has spent a lifetime in the medical profession. Starting his career in paediatrics, Keith headed up the paediatrics intensive care unit at St. George’s Hospital in London. After a number of years he moved into academia and for the past 20 years he has led the National Centre for Post-Qualifying Social Work and Professional Practice (NCPQSW).
Keith specialises in in mental health, mental capacity and the care and safeguarding of older persons. He also sits on a number of government advisory boards and has been called upon to provide guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic:
- Department of Health Adult Safeguarding Advisory Board
- Joint Department of Health and Ministry of Justice National Mental Capacity Leadership forum
- Home Office Joint Financial task force.
Professor Brown wrote the national guidance on Next of Kin and Lasting Powers of Attorney, as well as the national guidance on Advanced Decision to Refuse Treatment.
In the first of two interviews, we chat about mental capacity, the role of the next of kin, lasting powers of attorney and how to ensure your wishes are followed in the event of tragedy at any stage of life.
It’s a fascinating conversation with one of the most qualified professionals in the UK, so why not listen here on episode 089 of The Retirement Café Podcast.
I always love to hear your personal stories of transitioning into retirement, so I was delighted when listener Mary Dixon suggested her brother, John Bonney as a podcast guest.
In late May I spoke with John and asked him about his long career in the fire brigade, which culminated in him being chief of Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service for 11 years.
During this time, he also served as President of his professional body and in 2015 he was honoured with a CBE in recognition of his service to the public.
On leaving the fire service after 33 years, instead of heading into retirement, John embarked on new business challenges that fulfilled his ambition of combining work and travel.
John shares his story of how he transitioned successfully from a very high status role at work to being the ex-Fire Chief. He explains how having the right mindset allowed him to adapt and shares his tips on making a smooth transition to the next stage of life.
It’s a fascinating conversation, so why not listen here on episode 088 of The Retirement Café Podcast.
Sir Steve Webb is a renowned pensions commentator who served for 18 years as a Member of Parliament between 1997 and 2015, during which time he was Pensions Minister in the coalition government of David Cameron for 5 years.
During his time at DWP he oversaw the successful implementation of automatic enrolment, helped design and legislate for the new State Pension and played a key role in the ‘pension freedoms’ introduced in 2015.
Steve joins me to talk about all things pensions and in this episode we hone in on the history of the State Pension, changes implemented by Steve whilst in government, the challenges we all face when getting information about our State Pensions and Steve’s recent report that explores whether thousands of older women being short-changed on their State Pension.
Steve explains who may be affected and what you can do if you think you are being short-changed.
It’s a highly informative conversation, so why not listen here on episode 087 of The Retirement Café Podcast.
The Open University is 51 years old and continues to pursue its mission of being open to people, to places to methods and to ideas. It’s openness comes from enabling people to access study very flexibly, without any entry requirements.
For many people, learning a new skill or studying something that’s always been of interest is a really important part of what makes for a successful retirement.
So I am delighted to welcome Dr Liz Marr, Pro Vice Chancellor for students at the Open University, to the podcast.
We chat about what the OU offers, to whom and how to get involved. There is a vast array of free content available on the Open Learn website and there are even virtual microscopes to study in virtual laboratories for Science qualifications!
Liz was herself a mature student and has over thirty years’ experience in UK higher education – in teaching, student support and partnership work. She is also co-author (with Rachel Forsyth) of ‘Identity Crisis: Teaching in Higher Education in the 21st Century’.
It’s a fascinating conversation, so why not listen here on episode 086 of The Retirement Café Podcast.
Simonne Gnessen helps people navigate the journey of their personal financial life.
As a money coach and a financial life planner with a company called Wise Monkey Financial Coaching, Simonne helps people build better relationships with money to feel more confident and in control of their finances.
She is also co-author of Sheconomics.
Simonne joined me to chat about the work she does, the ways in which she has helped a number of clients and the benefits people have experienced in their financial – and broader – lives.
She brings a range of expertise from non-regulated financial planning, life planning and coaching and is also now working with previous guest Chris Budd on a wellbeing initiative.
Listen here on episode 085 of The Retirement Café Podcast.
I am really pleased to share with you this week my conversation with emotional intelligence coach and author, Anne Beaulieu.
Emotional intelligence is term you may be very familiar with, but for many of us, it’s a term that’s often misunderstood.
Anne explains how she discovered the importance of emotional intelligence in her life and how she now helps others to appreciate how high EQ can help them become more contented, fulfilled individuals.
She has worked a lot with women to remove the guilt and shame experienced as they build successful businesses, allowing them to build their business with passion, with focus and with intentionality.
Anne explains how we can help ourselves and our children or grandchildren to understand our relationship with money and how that influences our behaviours. It’s a fascinating discussion about the impact our money experiences and associated feelings have upon how we interact with loved ones and treat ourselves.
Listen here on episode 084 of The Retirement Café Podcast.
Passing on our wealth and our assets to our loved ones is an important part of retirement planning, and one we’ve discussed on the podcast before.
In episode 59 I spoke with Lisa Snyder from the Institute for Preparing Heirs about how to avoid the old adage of shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in 3 generations and why this phenomenon comes about.
This week I am delighted to share with you a conversation I had recently with Amy Castoro who is President and CEO of the ‘The Williams Group’.
We chatted about the importance of having family unity when it comes to planning how best to pass on our wealth and how to have the difficult conversations around money – especially in times of social distancing when face to face conversations become even more difficult.
Listen here on episode 083 of The Retirement Café Podcast.
Heather Waring is on a mission to get ‘One million women walking’.
She says that ‘Walking makes her soul sing’ and that she wants to help others experience the positive impact that walking has had upon her life.
In 2009 Heather founded the ‘One million women walking’ Facebook group and wants to get people connecting over a shared love of walking and ultimately talking about what walking gives to them.
Heather discovered the mental health benefits of walking after a difficult time in her life and wants others to experience the same benefits. She is also a coach, author and speaker.
We had our conversation in mid April during the coronavirus lockdown, so discussed the implications on walking during this challenging time.
Listen here on episode 082 of The Retirement Café Podcast.
With a great deal of uncertainty during the coronavirus pandemic, many people have unanswered questions concerning their finances, their retirement and life in general.
So we ran a series of virtual Retirement Café coffee mornings and invited special guests to share their expertise to help people feel more informed at this challenging time.
On 1st May I welcomed New York Times’ columnist and author Carl Richards. Through his simple sketches, Carl makes complex financial concepts easy to understand.
Carl shared his story, how ‘The Sketch Guy’ column arose and why his simple sketches are so powerful.
Carl has learned that our coded behaviour often works against us in our financial lives and aims to help raise the profile of Real Financial Planners who act as guides to ensure their clients align their capital to what’s most important to them.
He believes – like me – that planners should be there when the storm comes in to help investors navigate turbulent times and change routes if necessary, not defend an outdated map.
Listen here on episode 081 of The Retirement Café Podcast or watch the whole video on You Tube.
Have you ever considered travelling solo? Maybe you’re a dab hand at it and have been travelling alone for many years. Or maybe you’re just considering taking your first trip.
It can feel daunting to take that first trip alone. Well help is on hand from Janice Waugh. Janice lives in Toronto and she is the go-to authority on the topic of solo travel.
In 2009 she founded Solo Traveler a website she conceived of based upon her own need for better information about travelling alone and she’s here to tell us more about it.
She joins me to share her advice on what to consider when travelling solo, what to expect and steps you can take to depart with confidence.
Give-away
We also have a give-away of three free Wits and Wonders Travel Courses. The first 3 people to email us with the correct answer to this question will win:
What’s the name of Lesson 2 in the course?
This is the second episode in our series on travelling. If you missed my chat with Gary Bembridge of Tips for Travellers you can listen here.
Listen here on episode 080 of The Retirement Café Podcast.
We all have behavioural biases that drive our values and guiding principles. These ultimately impact how we show up in the world and the decisions that we make.
Neil Bage is a specialist on the sub-conscious behaviours that drive our decisions and how to bridge complex theory with real world understanding.
He helps people understand what’s going on inside their heads when they make decisions and is passionate about helping people make safe and informed financial decisions in particular.
Neil joined me at a recent Virtual Retirement Café coffee morning and I would like to share our conversation with you on the podcast to help you navigate the current landscape and any decision making you are facing.
Listen here on episode 080 of The Retirement Café Podcast.
I know that many of our clients enjoy their holidays, and in particular cruising, so I am delighted to welcome Gary Bembridge, author and founder of Tips for Travellers.
Gary has travelled every month of every year for the past 25 years. Since 2012 he has been exclusively focusing on creating travel content including videos, audio podcasts, books and articles – specialising in cruising.
Gary’s Tips for Travellers YouTube channel averages 2.5 million views every month, his podcast has had over 1 million downloads and his award-winning blog receives 170,000 visitors a year.
Gary joined me to share insights from his vast experience of travelling and cruising across the globe. We also discussed the challenge for the travel industry during these uncertain times with the Covid-19 pandemic.
This is the first in our series on Travelling in retirement.
Listen here on episode 078 of The Retirement Café Podcast
I have chatted with a number of guests over the past 18 months about ageing well as it’s a topic that I know many of our listeners are interested in.
This week’s interview is with someone who has a profound interest in ways via which we can improve the health and quality of life outcomes in older adults.
Dr Jitka Vseteckova is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Health, Wellbeing and Social Care at the Open University. She is involved in a plethora of research projects and training courses, all focused on helping people stay healthy far into their retirement years.
Jitka talks about the impact exercise can have in putting the daily stress we experience in to perspective.
Against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, I thought it would be interesting to understand what steps older adults can take to stay fit and well at these challenging times.
Listen here on episode 077 of The Retirement Café Podcast
If you are a regular listener to the podcast – firstly, thank you for joining me again this week – and secondly, you will probably be aware that the podcast is sponsored by Timeline App.
Each week, I give a brief explanation of the TimelineApp software and how it helps financial planners like me bring your retirement journey to life and answer your big retirement income questions.
But Timelineapp really comes into its own at this time of high market volatility, so I am delighted to welcome back to the show today founder and CEO of Timelineapp, Abraham Okusanya.
I have known Abraham for a number of years and watched in admiration as he has continued to bring cutting-edge technologies to the financial advice market, become a published author and host the highly successful Science of Retirement Conference.
Abraham is here today to help us understand the current stock market performance as a result of the coronavirus and put it into the context of historical events over the past 100 years.
Listen here on episode 076 of The Retirement Café Podcast
A recent survey revealed that one of the biggest regrets for millions of people in Britain was not asking more about their parents’ and grandparents’ lives.
Bryher Scudamore found herself amongst these millions when her beloved mother, Peggy, died suddenly and unexpectedly from a heart attack. Reeling with the shock of realising her mother wasn’t invincible, Bryher realised as she was going through Peggy’s papers how much more there was to discover and desperately wished she had found out more during her mother’s lifetime.
She vowed to try and help others to avoid making the same mistake and after 12 years’ research at the age of 60, she founded autodotbiography.
Bryher – previously editor of ‘That’s Life!’ and BBC Online – joins me to explain how autodotbiography makes it easy for everyone to create a beautiful account of their life story, for their family, one that will be treasured for generations to come.
Listen here on episode 075 of The Retirement Café Podcast
We’ve discussed the importance of finding purpose in retirement on a number of podcast episodes and today’s guest seems to have done just that.
Since retiring three years ago, Mark Anness has become heavily involved in a charity dear to his heart. In our interview Mark shares the story behind his involvement in Myra’s Wells and the inspirational work the charity does building wells for villages in rural Africa.
It was clear from our conversation that Mark gets a huge amount of satisfaction from working as Trustee.
Listen here on episode 074 of The Retirement Café Podcast
With a degree in Classics from Cambridge University, Rory Sutherland joined Ogilvy – one of the biggest global advertising agencies – as a graduate trainee in 1988. He worked as a copywriter and creative director for over 20 years, then became UK Vice Chairman in 2005.
He is one of the most influential advertising professionals in the world today.
As an expert in Behavioural Economics, Rory founded Ogilvy’s ‘behavioural science practice’, where he works with psychologists to look for ‘unseen opportunities’ in consumer behaviour – the very small contextual changes which can have an enormous effects on the decisions people make.
He has delivered a number of TED Talks that have been viewed nearly 7 million times, and has published two books: The Wiki Man and Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas which don’t make Sense.
Rory joins me to chat about how the best ideas don’t make rational sense: they make you feel more than they make you think.
Rory believes that the big problems we face every day could very well be solved by letting go of logic and embracing the irrational. He shares has vast experience from the world of advertising and how this applies to decisions that impact our retirement and our financial decision making.
Listen here on episode 073 of The Retirement Café Podcast
Our wonderful next door neighbour, Peggy, is 91 years young.
She joins me to share the experiences of her long life that have influenced how she lives today, in the second episode of our series about Longevity and Retirement.
Peggy grew up on a farm, started work before turning 15 and married young. As a fitness fan, Peggy shares how keeping moving has helped her stay fit and well. She still does her morning exercises – including the plank! – , looks after her own garden and walks everyday. Peggy was waterskiing into her 70s!
I ask Peggy about what she’s experienced during her lifetime, how she’s coping with the Coronavirus outbreak and what advice she would give to someone retiring today.
Listen here on episode 072 of The Retirement Café Podcast
As life expectancies have increased, conceptions of retirement have evolved.
With many people likely to live for twenty to thirty years beyond State Pension age (SPa), retirement is no longer simply a period of winding down at the end of your life. This shift has led more people to question what retirement is all about, whether they want to or can afford to retire, and if they do, how they want to spend their remaining time.
Lauren Wilkinson joins me from the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI), an educational, independent research organisation with a charitable objective to inform the policy debate on pensions and retirement income provision, to discuss their findings from a recent study on Living through later life.
In the first of our series on Longevity and Retirement, we chat about the experiences, risks and demographic characteristics associated with each of the three phases of later life.
Listen here on episode 071 of The Retirement Café Podcast
Have you ever sought financial advice?
And if so, did you act on the advice given? If you didn’t follow the advice you received, you’re not alone.
Too often, the advice is sound (hopefully) and you’re eager, but for some reason nothing happens.
Neuropsychologist and financial change expert, Dr Moira Somers, recognised this pattern in her work and was concerned about the well-being of her clients and the lost opportunities. So, she decided to investigate further.
Dr Somers has published a book called ‘Advice that Sticks’ which examines the five main factors that determine whether someone will follow through with financial advice and joins me to discuss her findings.
Listen here on episode 070 of The Retirement Café Podcast
Greg Davies is a globally recognised expert in behavioural finance and its impact upon our financial wellbeing. Behavioural finance is a way of understanding the decision making you go through in your day to day life, how your personality and psychology influences that, and ultimately how we use that knowledge to help you make better decisions.
He joins me to explain the smart way to match your investment risk to your investments and his three rules for investing.
We also chat about how to encourage people to engage with their personal finances, why we struggle to make decisions about our money and how a lot of our money decisions are based on what feels emotionally comfortable to us, rather than any sort of technical analysis of what the optimal decision is.
Greg – of Oxford Risk – holds a PhD from Cambridge University and is also a specialist in both the theory and practice of investment risk profiling.
Listen here on episode 069 of The Retirement Café Podcast
We’ve heard many wonderful personal stories of retirement life, but it’s not rosy for everyone. Many people suffer from isolation and loneliness.
This week’s guest needs no introduction.
Dame Esther Rantzen has been a household name for many years since first appearing on our TV screens as a presenter and journalist.
In 1986, she famously launched ChildLine – a free, private and confidential service where children can talk about any issues they’re dealing with. ChildLine is now part of the NSPCC and Esther is still involved. She is also a patron for 19 charities and has a damehood for services to children and older people.
More recently, Esther launched The Silver Line – a telephone support service providing information, friendship and advice to older people – that has already received well over 2.5 million calls.
It’s almost impossible to reach some way into adulthood without experiencing the loss of a loved one. I think it’s fair to say that each of us deals with death in a different way and has our own way of grieving.
For some, grief can be totally crushing and incredibly difficult to deal with.
My guest this week knows first-hand what it’s like to lose someone dear to her. Amy’s experience set her off on a lifelong mission of helping people deal with grief.
Author, speaker and founder of Corgenius, Amy Florian joins me to share her experience of loss and grief and her insights into dealing with this complex emotional arena.
This episode is the second in our series on dealing with grief and loss.
Listen here on episode 067 of The Retirement Café Podcast
Why do we prepare so well for birth, yet give so little attention to preparing for death?
Judy Kauffmann believes we should. She is passionate about caring for people during their end of life journey and empathising with those left behind, and her training and writings reflect this ethos.
Judy is an award-winning author of two books on end of life management and bereavement. She not only trains people to achieve the highest level of non medical care, but also empowers carers, helping take the fear out of end of life.
She is also currently training to be an End of Life Doula, someone who walks alongside the individual, their family and their community as an informed companion at the end of their life.
This episode is the first in our series on dealing with grief and loss.
Listen here on episode 066 of The Retirement Café Podcast
There is a type of crime for which there is almost no criminal justice. Fraudsters stole £1.2 billion through the UK financial sector in 2018, affecting more than 3 million victims.
Fraud and scams are the fastest growing crime area in the UK and notoriously hard to tackle. Research has found that 96% of reported cases go unsolved.
With police help limited in this area, there are people striving to support victims of financial crime.
Louise Baxter-Scott is founder and head of the Scams Team for National Trading Standards. She was awarded the MBE in 2017 for services to protecting vulnerable people from financial abuse.
Louise joins me to explain the most common types of financial fraud to look out for, how to protect yourself and what her team is doing to protect and keep vulnerable people safe.
This episode is the second in our series on Working into Retirement (click the link under ‘useful links’ to listen to last week’s episode).
Tim relaunched his career in his 50s when he lost everything to the recession. Now in his mid 70s, Tim has co-founded and run businesses, think tanks and charities.
He believes that many people feel that they have unrealised potential and that they’re looking at ways to release it. Now in his seventies, he still sees himself as a promising youngster and intends on thinking and behaving like someone much younger. He is putting more into life, and getting more out of it.
He has published a number of books including ‘Generation Cherry – Powerful Strategies to Give You Another Bite of the Cherry’.
Tim chats about different ways to work into retirement and the benefits that can bring.
Tim also features on the Bolder website of Dominique Afacan who appeared in episode 053 of the podcast. Tim joins me to chat about the role of continuing to work into retirement and later life.
Listen here on episode 064 The Retirement Café Podcast
This is the first in our brief series of episodes about Working in to Retirement.
Nearly 80% of the growth in UK employment over the last decade has come from the over 50s*.
A staggering fact, and one made even more impactful if you consider that the ONS expects the number of over 50s to increase by nearly 10% over the next 10 years, an additional 2.7 million individuals.
To simply maintain current rates of employment, that requires us to prepare society and the workplace for millions more older workers being gainfully employed. But are we prepared and willing to do so?
Stuart Lewis is on a mission to address this challenge and founded Rest Less in December 2018 to do just that. Rest Less aims to help solve employers’ recruitment challenges by providing access to a motivated and rapidly growing talent pool, whilst also promoting thousands of jobs from employers who see the value of age diversity in the workplace to the over 50s.
*ONS figures
Listen here on episode 063 The Retirement Café Podcast
Over 20 years ago, Nick had a vision for the future of housing for later life. He envisioned a retirement village that offered the facilities of a spa hotel but with care on hand, as and when needed.
Nick Sanderson is now CEO of Audley Group, the company that reinvented the retirement property market; challenged the care home model and introduced the concept of luxury retirement villages for the over 55s.
They provide a range of luxury retirement villages, each with a health club, library and restaurant. Nick discusses why the demand of these villages is growing and the role they can play in solving the housing crisis in the UK.
Listen here on episode 062 of The Retirement Café Podcast.
Happy New Year!
There are many ways to make ‘2020 Your Best Year Yet’.
As discussed in the first episode in this series, one of those ways is to consider your most important priorities and make sure you spend time doing the things of most importance to you.
Another way is to continue to learn. And what better way than to learn from those who know more than us!
This week, Justin discusses the books he highly recommends you read in 2020. He introduces each book and why you may want to consider taking time to read them.
We are also delighted to announce this week that The Retirement Café podcast has a new sponsor! Timelineapp helps financial planners bring a client’s retirement journey to life and answer their big retirement income questions.
We are excited to have Timeline on board - they're an extremely progressive and exciting company and their fit with what we're trying to do with this podcast is spot on.
We're aiming to help you feel more informed in your retirement. Timeline helps you feel informed about how your retirement savings can be put to best use, so you don't run out of money.
Justin chats about Timeline more on this episode, so tune in now to episode 061 of The Retirement Café Podcast
It’s New Year’s Eve – the final day of 2019, so what better topic to discuss than 'How to Make 2020 Your Best Year Yet'.
In fact, that’s the theme of the next two episodes.
As is tradition with the arrival of another new year, you may well be getting ready to set some new year’s resolutions. Things that you’d like to change in your life or new habits you’d like to create.
It’s not something that I’ve ever really done, but I know my wife, Kathy, used to set resolutions each year. Kathy joins me on the podcast to chat about why I don’t believe new year’s resolutions are very effective and how lasting change can be brought about.
We cover setting goals, the difference between strategies and goals, why we need to talk to our 85-year old self, and why it's important not to wait until the New Year to make the changes we want to see in our lives.
Listen here on episode 060 The Retirement Café Podcast
You've probably heard of the old adage 'from shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations', but is it really true?
Research in the USA* suggests that inherited wealth rarely endures. By the second generation, it found, 70 per cent of family fortunes had been depleted. By the third generation, the figure was 90 per cent.
60% of unsuccessful wealth transfers result from a lack of trust and communication among family members, which led to the creation of the Institute for Preparing Heirs.
Lisa Snyder is Managing Partner & Chief Learning Officer for the Institute, which helps financial advisers help guide conversations with their wealthy clients about wealth, legacy and purpose to align the entire family for a successful wealth transfer.
She joins me to chat about how to manage the transfer of wealth successfully.
In this episode, we cover a summary of defined contribution, defined benefit and other workplace pensions, what you should know or find out about your existing pensions and what you need to consider to ensure you have sufficient provisions when you reach your retirement.
This is the third episode in our series about Changing the Perceptions of Ageing.
We are living longer than ever before but millions of us risk missing out on a good later life.
The Centre for Ageing Better is focused on bringing about lasting changes in society that make a difference to people’s experience of later life, now and in the future. This means more people in fulfilling work, in good health, living in safe, accessible homes and connected communities.
Louise Ansari is passionate about using communications to help improve lives.
With a background in leading communications and campaigns for various health and social policy organisations - such as Diabetes UK, Which? Magazine and the Food Standards Agency - Louise is well placed to lead the Centre for Ageing Better help more people live better in later life.
Louise joins me to chat about the charity's mission and how the #AgeProud campaign is challenging the outdated, ageist attitudes that prevent too many of us from making the most of our longer lives and her new book ‘When We’re 64: Your Guide to a Great Later Life’.
Listen here on episode 057 of The Retirement Café Podcast, the first in our series on 'Changing perceptions of ageing and ageing better'.
If you listened to last week’s episode, you’ll know that I shared some of the lessons I’ve learnt from interviewing interesting guests over the past 12 months since the podcast was launched.
This week I plan to share a further 4 lessons, in celebration of the first anniversary of The Retirement Café Podcast. Last week’s lessons included:
- Everyone has a story
- Retirement as we know it is dead
- It’s never too late to do something important to you
This week I cover:
- the importance of having a purpose
- We have more control over ageing and our health than we may think
- Pensions really are interesting
- The future's bright
If you'd like to listen to any of the full episodes mentioned in this episode, please click the links below.
Listen here on episode 056 The Retirement Café Podcast.
This week we are celebrating the first anniversary of The Retirement Café Podcast. Believe it or not, we’re on episode 55 and week 52 of the podcast, so I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to look back at the lessons I’ve learnt over that time from some of the fascinating people I’ve interviewed. I wasn’t too sure what to expect when I set out on this podcast journey. I knew I would be aiming to talk to lots of people about all aspects of retirement life, and it’s certainly true that I’ve chatted to a diverse group of people. As I look back at all the conversations, a number of themes pop up that are central to many of my conversations. So, I wanted to take this opportunity - one year on from launch - to share the first 3 of 7 lessons I’ve learnt from chatting with interesting guests. 1- Everyone has a story 2 - Retirement as we know it is dead 3 - It’s never too late to do something important to you
This is the second episode in our series about Changing the Perceptions of Ageing. Maggy is relishing retirement after a distinguished 37-year career in the legal profession. She has discovered the immense joys of dancing, Twitter and volunteering, including being Vice Chair of ‘Open Age’ – a London charity that helps thousands of people over 50 lead healthy, happy and fulfilled lives. Maggy has recently published her book ‘How to Age Joyfully: Eight Steps to a Happier, Fuller Life’, inspired by her experience of retirement so far. Maggy discusses her experience and why she believes we can age joyfully.
Are you worried about getting old?
Mid thirty-something writer Dominique Afacan was. Old age to her was an unhappy place, mostly filled with loneliness, rocking chairs and possibly some tea and biscuits, if she was lucky.
Together with friend and photographer colleague, Helen Cathcart, Dominique set out to find people over 70 who made old age look more appealing. They interviewed and photographed these inspiring people, which led to the launch of Bolder.
Dominique joins me to chat about why they want to change perceptions about growing older and how they’re going about doing so.
Listen here on episode 053 The Retirement Café Podcast, the first in our series on 'Changing perceptions of ageing and ageing better'.
As you know, the current generation of retirees has benefitted greatly from quite dramatic increases in house prices over the years. This is great news for retirees in general, but for some people, they find that the majority of their wealth is tied up in their property.
For those struggling to afford the retirement they want, or even the retirement they need when it comes to paying for care or other later life costs, equity release can be an appealing option.
Equity release has had a bad press in recent years, but demand is growing with 83,000 people taking out an equity release product in 2018. There are five fold as many equity release solutions available compared to 5 years ago – so is equity release now a viable solution?
Martin Lines, Business Development Director with Just, one of the leading providers of retirement solutions in the UK, joins me to answer all our questions about equity release.
Listen here on episode 052 The Retirement Café Podcast.
Professor Sir Muir Gray has worked in public health for 40 years, focusing on disease prevention (particularly helping people to stop smoking) and population ageing.
He is a renowned leading Consultant in Public Health in Oxford University Hospital NHS Trust and a professor in the University of Oxford’s department of Primary Care Health Sciences.
Knighted in 2005 for his services to the NHS, he is known as a public health pioneer. In recent years, Sir Muir has gone on to publish a number of lighthearted books including ‘Sod Seventy! The Guide to Living Well’.
He joins me on the podcast to talk about why the word retirement should be banned, ‘Excessive Sitting Syndrome’ and what we can do to dramatically reduce our risk of serious illness as we age.
He argues why ‘clean, clear knowledge’ is so important in the 21st century and how he’s helped to ensure it’s available via the NHS.
Listen here on episode 051 The Retirement Café Podcast.
Roger Whitney believes that planning for retirement is just as much about intentional saving as it is about intentional living.
Like me, he believes the best retirement strategies are grounded in what’s important in your life right now and in the future.
Roger is an American Certified Financial Planner, author of 'Rock Retirement' - a simple guide offering inspirational advice on how to enjoy the journey to retirement and beyond, and host of The Retirement Answer Man podcast.
He joins me on the podcast to chat about his mission of helping people live well today without sacrificing tomorrow.
Listen here on episode 050 The Retirement Café Podcast.
Do you ever feel that there is just too much information and choice today?
Behavioural finance expert Brian Portnoy has found a way to achieve simplicity in our world of information overload and shares his perspective in two fascinating books The Investor's Paradox and The Geometry of Wealth.
In his books, Brian successfully tackles the challenges of not only making better investment decisions but also how money figures in to a joyful life. And explains how the two tasks - tackling the big questions about a joyful life and tending to financial decisions - are wholly complementary.
In educating thousands of investors over the years as keynote speaker, seminar leader, and consultant, Brian emphasises the practical benefits of understanding the intersection of human psychology, financial markets, and modern capitalism.
He holds a doctorate from the University of Chicago where he currently lives with his family.
Listen here on episode 049 The Retirement Café Podcast.
Most people think of Tai Chi as a wonderful relaxing exercise performed in parks throughout China, in the early morning. This is true to some extent.
Tai Chi is relaxing, but it also strengthens the body, improves circulation and is an effective form of self-defence.
The holistic nature of this ancient martial art makes it suitable for people of all ages and levels of fitness as it adapts itself to suit your abilities. What’s more, recent studies have proven that Tai Chi has significant health benefits for older people.
Mark Peters joins me on the podcast to chat about his involvement with the practice for the past 30 years. As an executive committee member of the Tai Chi Union of Great Britain, Mark runs his own training association, has competed at two World Championships and been developed programmes for the NHS around the use of Tai Chi for rehabilitation for COPD and lung disorders, falls prevention and special needs.
Listen here on episode 048 The Retirement Café Podcast.
We have unbelievable political uncertainty at the moment and it’s hard to deny that it’s causing considerable market turmoil. You may well be wondering what effect this will have upon your investments and retirement savings.
Are you okay with gritting your teeth and keeping your carefully structured portfolio on track as planned? Or are you wondering whether you should now somehow shift your portfolio to higher ground until the coast seems clear?
In other words, might these stressful times justify a measure of market timing?
In this episode Justin covers four important reminders on the perils of trying to time the market at any time.
He also shares his views on risk tolerance and how financial advisers often use this metric incorrectly as a tool to design your investment portfolio. Justin explains the flawed assumptions implicit in the concept of risk tolerance and the approach he takes at MFP Wealth Management to best assess clients’ risk tolerance.
Listen here on episode 047 The Retirement Café Podcast.
Pop into most cafes and you'll quite easily find tea and cake. Pop into a Death Cafe and you'll be served much more.
At a Death Cafe people, often strangers, gather to eat cake and drink tea - as you might expect - but they also gather to discuss death.
Death has a stigma of being morbid to bring up and especially to talk about. There's that superstition that you are inviting death closer by discussing it. However, thousands of groups in 51 countries have met up with one another to discuss our finite lives and the inevitable.
Death Cafe co-founder, Sue Barsky Reid joins me on the podcast. Sue is a psychotherapist and counsellor, skills she used to the full when creating the Death Cafe concept with her late son, Jon Underwood.
Sue tells us why they founded Death Café and how and why this social enterprise has gone from strength to strength.
Listen here on episode 046 The Retirement Café Podcast.
Last week we discussed annuities, what they are and when you may decide to buy one.
In 2015 new legislation - The Pension Schemes Act 2015 - took the pensions market by storm. Known as 'pension freedoms', the new rules gave you more options as to how to take your pension savings.
Billy Burrows returns to the podcast this week to talk us through pension freedoms and what this means to you.
We discuss pension drawdown, Billy's 'three pot approach', and creating an income strategy for all phases of your retirement.
Listen here on episode 045 The Retirement Café Podcast.
When the time comes to decide what to do with your retirement savings, you may face the difficult choice of either buying an annuity or entering into drawdown.
Annuities have fallen out of favour since pension freedoms came into force in 2015, as many retirees took advantage of being able to access their pension funds in the way they wanted. But do annuities still have a place in the retirement income market?
William Burrows believes so. Having been involved with retirement options for 30 years as a qualified financial adviser, he is well known as somewhat of an expert on annuities.
Billy joins me on the podcast to explain what an annuity is, when it's worth considering and why retirement advice is both an art and a science.
Listen here on episode 044 The Retirement Café Podcast.
Did you know that you don't have to take your State Pension when you reach the State Pension age?
There have been numerous changes to how you qualify for the full State Pension and when you will be able to draw on this valuable benefit.
In this episode of the podcast, Justin chats with Rian Timmins, Trainee Financial Planner at MFP Wealth Management, who explains all the rules.
This includes how to find your State Pension age, what you will receive and when you will receive it.
Rian goes on to explain how to top up your State Pension if you have missing years, in which situations you may need to do so and unravels the complexity of the State Pension rules.
Listen here on episode 043 The Retirement Café Podcast.
Dr. Noel Collins has learned that most distress for people with dementia doesn’t come from the absence of some magic bullet. It comes from the challenges associated with care.
As an older adult psychiatrist, Dr Collins has vast experience in the field of dementia as a specialism within gerontology.
Gerontology is the study of ageing. We think about ageing as being a purely biological process. Actually, as we age, we're influenced by many non-biological things; by social policy, by the law, by finances, and that also includes dementia. Dr Collins looks at dementia through a more sociological lens than a medical one.
He is the co-author of ‘The D-Word: Rethinking Dementia’, which covers the insights Dr Collins acquired from six years’ running a memory clinic. Dr Collins wrote the book with Mary Collins, who appeared in episode 28 of the Podcast.
You can listen to Noel's interview here on episode 042 of The Retirement Café Podcast.
Vanguard is an investment company not quite like any other.
Vanguard was founded in the United States in 1975 on a simple but revolutionary idea: that an investment company should manage the funds it offers in the sole interest of its clients. This would lead to a fairer, lower cost investing model.
40 years and $3 trillion later, Jack Bogle’s vision remains strong and the firm continues to change outcomes for investors.
Neil Cowell joins me to share his thoughts on the biggest factors that influence a successful investing experience in retirement, the 4 investing principles and how Vanguard is structured to support this.
Neil looks after the UK sales division for Vanguard, which means he supports and educates the 13,000 UK financial adviser firms.
In our interview on episode 041 of The Retirement Café Podcast, hear why we choose to invest with Vanguard.
Paying for care is thought to be the second biggest financial commitment that we make during our lifetime, after taking our a mortgage.
Navigating the care market is, however, a minefield, so this adds to the financial pressure people feel.
Jacqueline Berry set up My Care Consultant to help people find the services they need, understand the funding available and secure any funding and, importantly, the long term security of your loved ones.
In our conversation, Jacqueline explains the difference between social care, NHS continuing healthcare and nursing care, which authorities are responsible for which type of funding, the application process, the 9 different ways to pay for care and how to find the most suitable care provider.
She explains how they work with individuals and qualified later life financial advisers to get the best possible outcome for you and your loved ones, as you navigate the care market.
Listen here on episode 040 The Retirement Café Podcast.
Planning a funeral can be overwhelming, especially when you’re grieving the death of a loved one.
There are a number of details to take care of, from deciding what type of funeral you want, who you want to arrange it, to arranging funeral transport and choosing music and readings for the service.
Simon Head and his family firm, Head and Wheble, have been there to support countless families over the past 90 years.
He joins me on the podcast to share his experience of funeral planning and give tips to listeners on how to arrange the ideal funeral at what can be a hugely distressing time.
He discusses the pros and cons of a pre-paid funeral plan and shares stories from his years working with death!
Listen here on episode 039 The Retirement Café Podcast.
In the world of financial advice, George Kinder is known as the Father of the Life Planning movement.
For over 30 years, George has trained thousands of financial advisers from 30 countries in life planning, which enables them to develop the listening and questioning skills that allow rich, meaningful conversations with their clients.
Delivering people into freedom is central to the life planning approach, and a concept that George is very passionate about. For George, it's twofold, which he explains in our interview.
George touches upon how, now aged 71, he has followed his entrepreneurial spirit and his deeply held passions to direct his life. He discusses how retirees can take this approach at any stage of life.
George has published five books, founded the Kinder Institute of Life Planning and is considered an international thought leader. His most recent book A Golden Civilization applies the life planning approach to our civilisation as a whole.
You can listen to my fascinating interview with George Kinder on episode 038 of The Retirement Café Podcast.
The Mental Capacity Act states that a person lacks capacity if they are ‘unable to make a specific decision, at a specific time, because of an impairment of, or disturbance, in the functioning of mind or brain’.
If you think that an individual lacks capacity, you need to be able to demonstrate it. You should be able to show that it is more likely than not – ie, a balance of probability – that the person lacks the capacity to make a specific decision when they need to.
Assessing a person’s mental capacity accurately is so important to get right, as the consequences for the individual can be huge. And that’s where Tim farmer and his award-winning firm, TSF Consultants, come in.
Known as ‘The Guru of Mental Capacity’, in his work with TSF Consultants Tim and his team have conducted over 3.500 mental capacity assessments in both clinical and legal settings.
TSF has become the largest supplier of mental capacity assessments to the legal profession, providing the assessments required when dealing with Lasting Powers of Attorney and the Court of Protection.
Tim’s book, ‘Grandpa on a Skateboard’, is the first practical book for Health and Legal professionals, that simplifies and explains the assessment process – jargon free.
Listen here on episode 037 The Retirement Café Podcast.
The transition into retirement can be a hugely positive experience, but for some it can also be a challenge.
Freelance journalist and author, Celia Dodd, spent months interviewing retirees to understand what makes a successful retirement. In our interview, Celia shares her findings.
For many people, retirement is the first time they can do something that really matters to them. But finding your purpose can be trial and error.
Through real life stories, including that of her own father, Celia touches on the most influential factors of a positive retirement: social networks, staying curious, relationships and having purpose, in order to help remove the fear of retirement.
You can listen to my fascinating interview with Celia here on episode 036 The Retirement Café Podcast.
David Jones returns for part 2 of our conversation on investing and how Dimensional Fund Advisors can play a part.
We discuss how retirees can implement a successful investment strategy. David explains that clarifying goals is the first step, which enables us to establish the rate of return needed on your investments to achieve your goals.
It's then important to select the most appropriate assets and, critically, remain disciplined and tune out from all the noise around investing.
David recently turned 60. He's given some thought to the next stage of life and shares with us his affinity with the Japanese tradition of Kanreki - turning 60 and taking the opportunity to consider 'what to build on and what to leave behind'. Reaching 60 is seen as an opportunity to start over, akin to starting a second childhood.
Whatever David pursues in the coming years, he's certain it will involve enjoyment, engagement and meaning.
I hope you enjoy the second part of my conversation on episode 035 of The Retirement Café Podcast. To listen to part one in episode 034, click here.
Thirty years ago when David Jones started out in financial services, he became acutely aware about the prevalence of high fund management costs and investment solutions that let investors down time after time. He transformed the business he was running to a fee-based practice and discovered Dimensional Fund Advisors.
David is now Vice President and Head of Financial Adviser Services EMEA. He explains why and how Dimensional are different to other fund advisors.
Dimensional’s investment approach is based on a belief in markets. Rather than attempting to predict the future or outguess others, Dimensional draws information about expected returns from the market itself—leveraging the collective knowledge of its millions of buyers and sellers as they set share prices.
Dimensional’s investment approach is also grounded in economic theory and backed by decades of empirical research. This transparent approach helps provide peace of mind so investors can stick with their plan. He argues that you don't need to pick the next best stocks, but can stick with an academically proven approach to investing instead.
Listen to the first part of my interview with David on episode 034 of The Retirement Café Podcast. Part 2 follows in episode 035.
This week I share some of the latest goings on in the financial world and my thoughts on what this could mean to you.
The topics covered include:
- The introduction of tougher rules for peer-to-peer platforms (those that offer loans to small firms using cash garnered from investors), and what this really means
- How a crackdown on banking overdraft fees will likely result in an end to free banking in the UK
- How best-buy fund lists are under the spotlight in the wake of Woodford troubles
- How switching saving accounts could save you money
- And finally .... vineyards will now qualify for business property relief, so could be a route to saving inheritance tax, for a very few amongst us!
You can listen to my thoughts on these and more here on episode 033 The Retirement Café Podcast.
As a dementia specialist, Mary’s experience of death and the final stage of life became quite vast. By chance, she met Judy Carole Kauffmann, a specialist in end of life management, and together they wrote the award-winning book ‘The End of Life: The Essential Guide to Caring’.
Mary sees that everyone’s experience of death and grief is different. When somebody dies, you're in shock. Even if you've been expecting it. And when you're in shock you behave differently from other times.
However, Mary also sees people opening up and being able to discuss death. She discusses the most important things we can do to help someone approaching the end of their life to gain peace of mind. Which sometimes means having those difficult conversations.
You can listen to Mary’s interview here on episode 032 The Retirement Café Podcast.
This episode is a little different from most of my podcast episodes in that I don’t have a guest with me today.
In fact, this is the first in a series of episodes where I will answer the questions I’m asked most often about investing and the elements of investing where the most confusion tends to lie.
My aim is to make what can be complex financial jargon into something we can all understand.
First up is ‘asset allocation’. In this interview I explain the different types of asset classes and how to ensure your asset allocation is suitable for you. I use the analogy of separating clothes in your wardrobe according to their role or style to explain how we allocate your assets into specific roles.
I hope episode 031 of The Retirement Café Podcast will help you gain a better understanding of the role of asset allocation in a successful investing experience.
Charitable giving should bring great joy and fulfilment. It should make you feel empowered and excited about the good you can do in the world.
Many of us donate to charity, but do we do it intentionally?
Lauren Janus has spent more than 15 years working in the charitable sector and is the founder of Thoughtful Philanthropy, a charitable giving advisory service, helping individuals and families become more informed and empowered philanthropists.
That means she helps people really understand the strategy charities you’re interested in are adopting and how they’re spending your money.
Lauren mostly works with retirees and their financial advisers. People’s questions about how to give less haphazardly often arise during the retirement conversation.
In this interview on episode 030 of The Retirement Café Podcast, Lauren explains what she means by giving your time, your talent, your treasure and your testimony.
In this episode I welcome back Ken West MBE. Ken appeared on episode 2 discussing the world of natural burials.
This time Ken chats about what makes for a successful retirement. Whilst not overly keen to retire, Ken’s wife Ann suggested it was time, so at age 60 after 45 years in bereavement services, for which he was awarded an MBE, Ken made the transition.
As a keen horticulturist, Ken planned to spend much of his time creating an organic garden. Shortly after retiring, Ken was approached by a publisher to write the guidebook for natural burial, so he decided to turn his hand to writing.
Running is Ken’s first love. Having completed over 250 races by his early 40s, winning around 40 of them, Ken and Ann have run throughout their lives. He stills manages 20-25 miles per week. Ken stresses how running helps him feel well each day and makes him feel as fit as he did in his 20s. Amazingly, he still holds an 18-mile fell running record thirty years after he set it.
So, what’s Ken’s current focus? His book, My Pagan Ancestor Zuri - A Parallel Journey: Christchurch to Stonehenge will be published in July 2019. It compares two lives and communities past and present – that of the people here in Christchurch in 2200BC, with the people living here today.
And Ken will, of course, continue to run.
Mary believes that dementia wouldn’t be so difficult if society dealt with it better. We tend to distance people with dementia, out of fear or a lack of knowledge of how to deal with people.
If they were made to feel a continued part of society, maybe people with dementia would live a happier life?
Mary Jordan has worked in the dementia field for many years, initially as a Dementia Support Worker for the Alzheimer’s Society. She qualified to deliver the Alzheimer’s Society CrisP programme and knows that dementia could come to any of us.
In her most recent book, The D-Word: Rethinking Dementia, Mary and her co-author Dr Noel Collins explain how society being more gentle on people with dementia could enable them to continue to contribute to society. She discusses her thoughts in episode 028 of The Retirement Café Podcast.
Mary co-founded AdaptDementia Ltd to allow families living with dementia to be better informed and to have a wide choice of support.
AdaptDementia provides information, training and support for care professionals, people with dementia and family carers wanting to know more about dementia and how to adapt themselves and their environment to the challenges it brings.
Most people don’t hire a financial planner in retirement because they can’t work out what to do themselves, given the time and inclination.
You hire a financial planner because they’re not you. We all have our blind spots. And it’s a real challenge for anyone to be able to manage money successfully themselves without becoming emotionally attached to it.
You struggle to move forward because you put a million obstacles in the way.
A real financial planner listens and understands you, asks really good questions and is totally transparent. They’re an independent third party who’s able to say, “Let’s look at this from a different angle” and help you make better decisions about money.
Carl Richards cuts through all the noise and the confusion around money. Through his simple sketches, Carl makes complex financial concepts easy to understand. Otherwise known as The Sketch Guy, his column has appeared weekly in the New York Times since 2010.
Carl is also a Certified Financial Planner, an author and a frequent keynote speaker at financial planning conferences around the world.
Carl appeared in episode 013 and episode 014 of The Retirement Café Podcast talking about how to have healthy conversations about money.
Here's episode 027 of The Retirement Café Podcast.
At the age of 50, Edwina Brocklesby decided to run her first half marathon. Until that point, she’d done little running, and her exercise regime consisted of little more than chauffeuring her children to their own sports clubs.
After that event, and following the loss of her husband of thirty years to cancer, she completed a marathon. Now, 76 years old, the past twenty years has seen Eddie take part in marathons, triathlons and Ironman races across the globe and she has accrued many medals and awards.
Eddie helped to found Silverfit in 2013 a small charity promoting lifelong fitness and fun, raising awareness of the benefits of physical activity and social inclusion for the over 50s.
Silverfit is helping inactive older people to live life to the full, independently and happily and has expanded rapidly, providing weekly opportunities for physical activity in ten varied locations across London.
In episode 026 of The Retirement Café Podcast and in her book ‘Irongran’ Eddie explains how she became the UK’s oldest woman to complete an Iron-distance triathlon and how keeping fit taught her that growing older needn’t mean slowing down.
I was delighted to meet Professor Dimson at the Science of Retirement Conference earlier this year as I have had his book ‘The Triumph of the Optimists’ on bookshelf for many years.
Elroy Dimson is Emeritus Professor of Finance at the London Business School. His research focuses on investing for the long term, and he has become well known for their studies of the investment performance since 1900 of financial assets in 23 countries.
Professor Dimson discussed the dilemma for impending and current retirees. Your ideal retirement plan will see you spending your last penny in your last day on this planet. As we don’t know how long we’ll live, we need to plan to leave a bequest.
There may be undesired and unforeseen expenses. Sticking your money in the bank will mean you’ll have lower purchasing power when you spend the money than when you saved it. So, you need to find a better return on your money.
Professor Elroy discusses which type of investments you could consider and why. Overall, Professor Dimson believes it’s best to create and stick to a long-term plan.
Tune in to hear Professor Dimson on episode 025 of The Retirement Café Podcast.
Age defines us. Simple. That’s how it’s always been, but it’s a belief system that George Lee is setting out to challenge.
With her organisation The Age of No Retirement, George and co-founder Jonathan aim to create a world where our age does not define us, by shattering age barriers and ageist stereotypes to create an inclusive future.
George shares research findings and fascinating insights into ageism and the work she is doing at The Age of No Retirement.
George Lee is a serial entrepreneur. With a background in psychology, George’s first business was a design company, This is Real Art, founded with the aim of making radical change through the power of design and radical creative thinking.
In 2012 she launched Commonland, a studio dedicated to using design-thinking to tackle big social issues. In 2016, George was voted as one of the world’s 50 Creative Leaders by the world’s leading creative and innovation magazine, Creative Review.
Tune in to hear George on episode 024 of The Retirement Café Podcast as she explains why and how we are thinking ourselves into illness.
After 18 years running the financial planning business he founded, Chris Budd was ready for a change of direction. Recognising he needed a new purpose and a way to exit his business, Chris stumbled across an organisation called the Employee Ownership Association. There, he found both.
The solution to Chris selling his business so that it could continue to flourish – via an Employee Ownership Trust – also became his new career. Recognising the enormous benefits of such an exit strategy, Chris wrote a book about it called The Eternal Business and now provides consultancy to other business owners who wish to follow his path.
Chris firmly believes that retirement is simply a change of circumstances. If we are pulled by a deep sense of purpose to do something different than what we’ve been doing our entire working lives, rather than pushed from our position, the transition is simpler and our new phase of life becomes more meaningful.
Chris joins me on this episode of The Retirement Café Podcast to explain his journey from exiting his business via an Employee Ownership Trust to finding his purpose for the next phase of life. Tune in to episode 023 of The Retirement Café Podcast.
Only 7% of the UK population currently has a Power of Attorney in place. The rest of us are running the risk of having to resort to the services of the Court of Protection, if we find ourselves lacking mental capacity and not able to make our own decisions.
Unfortunately, this happens too often. Your relative who seemed, until recently, to just be suffering from a few mild dementia symptoms, is now showing more severe signs. Without a Power of Attorney in place, her family members cannot make decisions on her behalf.
It's left to the Court of Protection to make decisions on financial and welfare matters for people who can’t make decisions at the time they need to be made. This may be where you end up living, what happens at the end of your life, and who can access your money. This is complex. costly and time-consuming, not to mention harrowing, for everyone involved.
Fiona Heald is a partner in the Court of Protection team at Moore Blatch Solicitors. She looks after the interests of vulnerable people and where appropriate their carers, helping them deal with the issues that arise in later life.
She joins me on this episode of The Retirement Café Podcast to explain what happens to your money and your welfare if you don't have a Power of Attorney. She also discusses how the Court of Protection can help when a Power of Attorney is misused.
Tune in to hear Fiona's fascinating account of the Court of Protection's role on episode 022 of The Retirement Café Podcast. Click here to listen to Fiona's first interview all about Lasting Powers of Attorney.
At 73-years old, Anne is one of the most active retirees I know. She is also my mother-in-law.
Anne has experienced all manner of highs and lows since taking early retirement at age 57, something she never planned to do.
Anne’s motto is ‘live the day’. In our interview she explains how her positive outlook has enabled her to deal with cancer, care for her husband of 50 years through heart failure, and overcome what she now believes to be Post Traumatic Stress Disorder after his death to keep on keeping fit and enjoying life.
Tune in to hear Anne’s personal story of why we should all get out there, speak with people and do what we enjoy on episode 021 of The Retirement Café Podcast.
Financial advisers are now incredibly well qualified, but exams don’t test how good they are at explaining complex later life advice in a way clients understand. This insight, coupled with her experience of working with older people in later life within financial services, led Jane Finnerty to co-found The Society of Later Life Advisers (SOLLA).
In 2008, alongside barrister Trish Hanifan, Jane set up SOLLA as a not-for-profit organisation designed to raise standards and accessibility to regulated financial advice for older people and their families.
In our interview Jane explains how more complex and inter-generational retirement planning needs have become and why this necessitates a different approach and skillset from advisers. She explains how and why the unique SOLLA accreditation helps consumers identify advisers who best understand their unique needs across the various stages of retirement.
After all, it's about helping people in later life avoid those 3am moments worrying about paying for care or setting up Powers of Attorney. That's what comes with personalised advice specific to later life.
Jane started her career with Help the Aged, followed by a move in to financial services during the1980’s. The Financial Services Authority then approached Jane and asked if she could look at examination standards for long term care and equity release.
This led to Jane considering what could be done for older people to access the right kind of advisor at the right time. In 2008, she and Trish Hanifan founded the Society of Later Life Advisers.
Tune in to hear Jane explain the benefits of working with a SOLLA accredited adviser and what to expect on episode 020 of The Retirement Café Podcast.
For ten years, Rory Percival was ‘the face of the Financial Conduct Authority’ (FCA) for financial advisers. An influential speaker and thought-leader, Rory’s technical expertise enabled him to play a significant role in setting the agenda for regulatory activity in the advice sector.
The projects he was involved in included pension switching, the Retail Distribution Review and pension freedoms.
In 2016, after an impressive 30 years in the financial advice sector, Rory Percival set up his own training and consultancy firm offering conference speaking, training, guides and consultancy.
Despite being a Chartered Financial Planner himself, Rory sought advice to ensure that his retirement savings would last throughout his entire retirement – which he expects could be quite some years.
In our interview, Rory explains the role of ‘core secure income’ in bringing peace of mind, the importance of his ‘little black book’ and why he wants to become a dog’s body!
The new residence nil rate band (RNRB) came into effect on the 6th April 2017. It's a new inheritance tax relief being phased in gradually over a number of years. In tax year 2017-18 it was worth £100,000 per person, and it's increasing by £25,000 increments until we get to tax year 2020-21 when the relief will be worth £175,000 per person.
When you add that to the £325,000 ordinary nil rate band available to everyone, you get half a million pounds inheritance tax relief per person.
But there are many rules attached when it comes to the value of your estate, who is eligible and what happens if you downsize or go into care.
Specialist estate and tax planning solicitor, Kurt Lee of Lester Aldridge solicitors, explains the rules and what you need to do to ensure your estate qualifies to claim the RNRB.
Listen to episode 018 of The Retirement Café Podcast to understand the importance of paperwork and what to do if your estate is worth between £2 and £3 m to ensure you still qualify.
In the first part of my interview with Barry Van Danzig we heard how Barry attempted to sell his business to venture capitalists, but ended up buying the business back after they turned a £2 million EBITDA* into a loss in two years.
Barry found himself back in the driving seat of his company. The highly successful company he had spent years building and nurturing. He still needed to find a way to retire, without compromising the business’s success.
In this second part of our interview, Barry stresses the importance of self-awareness and accepting you’re probably no longer the best person to run your firm. You need to make yourself redundant.
He explains how the biggest barrier for him to overcome was the psychological barrier of accepting the only real purpose of the business was to make money. That the business was an investment. He had to become hard-nosed about it.
Barry shares his reasons for rejecting the option of ‘just carrying on’ and why he decided to keep his business as an investment as he headed into retirement. He explains exactly how he achieved this, the pitfalls to avoid and how’s since managed to create a new vision for his future.
Whilst leaving a legacy.
Here’s the second part of Barry’s inspirational story on episode 17 on The Retirement Café Podcast.
Barry Van Danzig is not successful by accident. An astute entrepreneur who built and lost a business early on in life, Barry picked himself up, reengineered his future and created a fabulous company that brought the wealth and success he deserved.
As Barry approached his 50s he started to consider “What next?” The business was booming, robust and running smoothly. He started to think about retirement and the options open to him.
In this first part of a two-part interview, Barry shares his personal story of the three options he considered for exiting his business and the rollercoaster ride he endured pursing option one – selling his business and sailing off into the sunset.
With humour and humility, Barry explains the pitfalls he faced, the enormous challenge of making himself redundant and the difficulty of standing back and watching his ‘baby’ destroyed by venture capitalists.
Tune in to episodes 016 and 017 to hear Barry’s inspiring personal story about his transition from business owner to retiree. Let’s start with episode 16on The Retirement Café Podcast.
410,000 people live in care homes in the UK today. It is predicted there will be a 36% increase in the number of over 85s by 2025. With an ageing population comes a growing demand for care provision and care homes.
I chat to Hollie Clarke, Senior Care adviser with Colten Care, about how to find the most suitable care home to meet your needs. The key to success is good planning. Working in the specialist customer service team, Hollie helps residents and their families through the transition into care.
Sharing her experience from 10 years working in the care industry, Hollie explains the different care options available, how to check out possible homes before you set foot in the door and which probing questions you need to ask.
We cover checking what funding you’re eligible for, people with specialised medical needs such as dementia, keeping couples together and the future of care in the UK.
Colten Care started 35 years ago in Lymington and now have 20 care homes with a total of 1,100 residents.
Here’s episode 15of The Retirement Café Podcast.
In this episode you can listen to the second half of my interview with Carl Richards for his new Talking About Money workshop.
The goal of Carl’s Talking About Money workshop is to give people the tools and confidence necessary to have conversations about money that don’t end up in arguments. Too often, our money discussions cause stress and distress as we don't appreciate that money is emotional and evokes all kinds of feelings.
In the five workshop modules, Carl explores the ground rules for successful money conversations, how to start the conversation, the importance of listening, a process to follow and how to get started.
He interviewed four experts in this field, including me! Carl wanted to include my perspective because he understood that my somewhat different approach to retirement planning is grounded in listening, understanding and asking the right questions.
He has kindly allowed me to share this part of his Talking About Money workshop on my Retirement Café Podcast.
For those of you who don’t know Carl Richards, you may be familiar with his most famous work. Through his simple sketches, Carl makes complex financial concepts easy to understand. Otherwise known as The Sketch Guy, his column has appeared weekly in the New York Times since 2010.
Carl is also a Certified Financial Planner, an author and a frequent keynote speaker at financial planning conferences around the world.
This episode, episode 14, is the second of a two-part series giving you a sneak preview of what to expect from the workshop.
A few weeks ago, I was honoured to be interviewed by Carl Richards for his new Talking About Money workshop that launches right around now.
For those of you who don’t know Carl Richards, you may be familiar with his most famous work. Through his simple sketches, Carl makes complex financial concepts easy to understand. Otherwise known as The Sketch Guy, his column has appeared weekly in the New York Times since 2010.
Carl is also a Certified Financial Planner, an author and a frequent keynote speaker at financial planning conferences around the world.
The goal of Carl’s Talking About Money workshop is to give people the tools and confidence necessary to have conversations about money that don’t end up in arguments. When you sign up for Carl’s workshop, one of the pieces of content you receive is the interview you are about to hear.
Carl has kindly allowed me to share this part of his Talking About Money workshop on my Retirement Café Podcast.
In our interview, we talk about how to have healthy conversations about money. We don’t get taught how to talk about money at school, and it’s not something we tend to teach our children at home. So we grow up assuming a conversation around money is something that fits into a spreadsheet or a calculator.
As a result, these money conversations can cause people quite a lot of stress and often end in arguments. Because money is emotional and evokes all kinds of feelings.
Carl wanted to include my perspective on how to have positive conversations about money in his workshop because he understood that my somewhat different approach to retirement planning is grounded in listening, understanding and asking the right questions.
In our interview, I explain to Carl why and how I have learned to facilitate great conversations around money and share some of the tools and techniques for doing so. I stress the importance of active, intelligent listening in all conversations – especially those about money – so we can all have more positive outcomes around our money.
This episode, episode 13, is the first of a two-part series. Part 2 will be released as a bonus episode on Friday, so you don’t have to wait a whole week to hear how the interview concludes.
Since George Osbourne pronounced the words “No one will have to buy an annuity again” in 2014, the retirement market has changed from a safety-first environment to one full of risk and responsibility.
No longer forced to convert your hard-earned savings into an annuity – a guaranteed income for life in exchange for your pension pot – pension freedoms legislation allows you more freedom on how to spend your retirement savings.
Fundamentally this means more people decide to invest their retirement savings and take an income to meet their expenditure needs.
My guest on The Retirement Café Podcast this week is Abraham Okusanya – an intelligent chap who recognised how difficult it was for financial planners to help clients work out the best way to take an income from their investments. There are so many factors to consider, such as the inflation risk, longevity and market performance.
Abraham runs a research and consultancy firm called FinalytiQ, who provides investment and technical support to financial planners working with retirees. He is also the founder of the Timeline software. Timeline enables financial planners like us help their clients work out how to ensure their pension savings last a lifetime.
Here’s my interview with Abraham Okusanya, in episode 012 of The Retirement Café Podcast.
People struggle to keep track of their pensions; 3 out of 5 people don’t know what they have. On average, a working adult in the UK may have 11 different jobs during his or her working life. A holistic view is hard to achieve, even with the help of a financial adviser – and perhaps that’s why it is estimated that £400m of pensions are unclaimed.
Henry Tapper is passionate about helping people understand the value of their pension savings. Despite a lifetime in pensions, 57-year-old Henry found it extremely difficult to combine and understand his own multiple defined contribution pensions without an extraordinary amount of trouble.
This huge inconvenience led Henry to create AgeWage – an app that enables people like him to bring together and analyse their pensions. Henry wants you to know about the money you’ve paid for retirement. This means knowing how much you’ve saved, how much your investments have grown and knowing what you’ve paid for that investment growth.
With only 6% of people getting financial advice regarding their pension, AgeWage wants to provide people with something better than they are already getting.
In our interview Henry discusses the three issues the app is looking to address by assisting, guiding and equipping you to take action. The brand-new app is looking to launch in April.
Henry is an entrepreneur who helps people make good pension decisions. He founded AgeWage and the Pension PlayPen to map the pensions genome and ensure everyone gets data driven information on value for money. Henry has previously helped First Actuarial develop their business, been head of sales at Zurich Assurance and was an IFA for 11 years.
Here’s my hugely informative interview discussion with Henry Tapper in episode 011 of The Retirement Café Podcast.
Suzanne Noble had enjoyed a successful and varied career which included PR for big entertainment brands, founding a TV company, creating a baby sling company and launching money and time saving app Frugl.
Then, age 50, attempting to join the London technology start up industry Suzanne very quickly realised she was the oldest person doing so. She also found there was very little support for her, which led to co-founding Advantages of Age. The objective of Advantages of Age is to challenge the media narrative around ageing.
Suzanne believes it is never too late to start a business if you have the right attitude.
Through a combination of social events, a Business Academy for those over 50 and a popular Facebook page, Suzanne has worked to create a support network to help people over 50 get the confidence and knowledge to have further success in their careers and lives.
She shares examples of clients who’ve taken their experience to build a new working life in retirement and tips on how you could do the same.
Here’s my fascinating discussion with Suzanne Noble, in episode 010 of The Retirement Café Podcast.
Record numbers of people are formally assigning emergency decision-making to those they trust with a Lasting Power of Attorney. 726,000 people handed over control of their affairs to those they trust in 2016 alone and the figure has grown by 180 percent in the last 5 years alone.
But would you know where to start?
Fiona Heald is a partner in the Court of Protection team at Moore Blatch Solicitors. She looks after the interests of vulnerable people and where appropriate their carers, helping them deal with the issues that arise in later life.
Fiona ensures her clients’ wishes are met both now and in the future, which involves putting in place the necessary arrangements and legal structures.
This is a highly specialised area of law, requiring not only expert legal advice but also the ability to understand the emotional issues that arise.
In this episode, Fiona explains the types of Power of Attorney, how to choose a suitable attorney and how to put a Power of Attorney in place.
Fiona is a member of the Society of Estate and Trust Practitioners (STEP), Treasurer for the South Central branch of Solicitors for the Elderly and a Dementia Friends Champion.
Here’s my highly informative interview with Fiona Heald, in episode 009 of The Retirement Café Podcast.
The Five Ways to Well Being have been proven to be critical to a healthy retirement. Dr William Bird MBE, GP and founder of Intelligent Health, explains how an understanding of these principles can create the building blocks of a successful retirement.
As a family GP, William has first-hand experience of watching patients’ health deteriorate within a year of retiring. In 1996 he started to get his patients more active by setting up the first Health Walk scheme. This led to him creating the Green Gym one year later as he realised that companionship and contact with nature were major driving forces in keeping people active.
This passion has led him to be a Strategic Health Advisor to Natural England and set up health forecasts for the Met Office. His ‘Beat the Street’ campaign uses children to get their families involved, has already run 95 schemes and helped 960,000 people become active.
With evidence clearly showing physical activity has more health benefits than any other single intervention, William discusses the importance of physical health and how this can reduce the risk of Parkinson’s, Dementia and other conditions.
William also discusses the importance of an anti-inflammatory diet on long term health.
In 2015 he was voted as one of the top 30 most influential conservationists in the UK by BBC Wildlife Magazine and was listed in the top 100 people making Britain a happier place by The Independent. In 2010 William was appointed MBE for services to health and physical activity.
Dr Bird talks about how health is a means to happiness and retirement is a great opportunity to show who you are and not what you did. He believes our bodies are meant to be active and we’re designed to be connected to nature.
The need for care home spaces is predicted to rise dramatically with the ever-increasing life expectancy and growth of debilitating conditions including dementia now prevalent in later life. And planning for that care is something we need to face up to in retirement.
There are many different ways to fund care. Last year, 57,000 people needed to fund the costs of living in a care home. Only 6% opted for a care annuity.
A care annuity is just one option, but it’s a relatively little-understood solution. Graham Duffy explains what a care annuity is, the tax benefits and what it may cost you. He also shares the latest thinking on social funding limits, which impact how much of the care home fees you are responsible for paying.
Graham Duffy is a care specialist with Just, a well-established insurance company offering solutions to people who need to self-fund their care. Graham’s role is to help people get the best possible outcome at the very end of their retirement.
With 25 years’ background in insurance and life expectancy, Graham’s knowledge is unquestionable. He leaves us with tips on where to go for specialist advice on how to fund the care you may need and the importance of putting a Power of Attorney in place.
Here’s my informative conversation with Graham Duffy, in episode 007 of The Retirement Café Podcast.
You’ve worked hard to earn your money and want to do everything you can to both protect it and make sure it works hard for you in retirement.
Justin chats with his colleague Rian about how to avoid being negatively impacted by poor pensions advice and financial scams, and ensure you’re maximising your State Pension as you head into the New Year.
- The impact on the UK economy of financial scams is estimated at £5 to £10 billion a year. Rian shares his retail banking experience and highlights the most common banking scams, copycat websites and how you can protect yourself.
- 100,000 people are transferring out of their defined benefit (or final salary) pension schemes each year but recent research shows only 47% of these transfers are suitable. Justin explains how to get the right advice so your lifetime savings can provide the income you need throughout retirement.
- It’s important to check your National Insurance record, what your State Pension forecast is, whether you have any gaps and can make up missing years. My video series also explains how.
Making your money work hard is equally important:
- As you head into 2019, make sure you’re getting the most from your savings, consider taking advantage of ‘packaged accounts’ and guidance on the best ISA rates.
- Consider ‘haggling’ with utility providers to get on average a 20% reduction in tariffs or earn money as you shop with cash back websites.
Take these tips on board in episode 006 of The Retirement Café Podcast and start 2019 with a positive approach to your money and your financial health.
Dr Ben Hicks has a very refreshing approach to ‘The Big D’. A highly engaging and passionate professional who cares deeply about his research topic, and more importantly about his research subjects, Ben explains about the ground-breaking research he’s involved with.
Ben is adamant that a dementia diagnosis is no longer a death sentence. In fact, developments in technology and a gradual shift in health professionals’ approach to dementia are enabling Ben and his colleagues to challenge public assumptions. Encouragingly, they are experiencing an attitudinal shift amongst those affected by dementia towards Ben’s end goal – that of promoting how people can live positively and well with dementia.
Dr Ben Hicks is a psychology lecturer at Bournemouth University and Deputy Director of the Ageing and Dementia Research Centre (ADRC). Having studied how people experience and live with chronic conditions like cancer, an opportunity arose to work on a dementia project and Ben jumped at the chance.
At the age of just 20, Ben faced the difficult situation of seeing his grandmother suffering from dementia. This personal experience fuelled Ben’s interest in dementia and he has become one of the leading researchers in the field.
He believes the perception of dementia today is similar to that of the big C – cancer – 20 years ago. But he also believes that being diagnosed with the big D is no longer a death sentence and his groundbreaking research shows how people can live well with the disease for many years, with the right support and understanding.
Here’s my fascinating conversation with Dr Ben Hicks, in episode 005 of The Retirement Café Podcast.
Like many of the people we work with, Nick and Debbie approached retirement with some apprehension.
After many years in the Royal Marines and subsequently in the corporate world, the couple faced a devastating life-changing event that made them re-think their future.
Having been offered an opportunity to take redundancy earlier than planned, Nick and Debbie faced the challenges of creating a new life in retirement in their early 50s. Feeling too young to be truly retired, the couple prefer to call this stage of their lives their ‘active retirement’.
Nick and Debbie discuss how they’ve found their purpose and how important that is for a fulfilling retirement. This involves personal, physical and emotional challenges, and giving back to others.
Their newfound freedom and the right attitude to making the most of retirement means that – in Nick’s words – “every day is a Saturday”.
Here’s my interview with Nick and Debbie, episode 004, on The Retirement Café podcast.
At age 15, Ken West began his career planting up cemetery graves.
Maybe a strange career choice for a young lad, but one driven by a deep interest in horticulture. This was the start of Ken’s 45 year-long career in bereavement services.
Ken has been involved in over 100,000 funerals, from managing graveyards to crematorium to local authority funeral services. As his knowledge of the reality of traditional funerals grew, Ken’s interest in natural burial also grew.
In 1993 he created the revolutionary green funeral market when he opened the world's first natural burial site in Carlisle, which is spreading worldwide. Ken is widely recognised as the country's leading expert in the movement.
Over 45 years of work, Ken improved the burial situation for stillbirths, unchanged since the 1850’s, and for foetal remains, wrote the Charter for the Bereaved, introduced the reusable coffin for cremation and created techniques for reducing pollution from cremation. In 2001 Ken was awarded the MBE for his contribution to bereavement services.
Only on his retirement in 2006 did Ken put his vast knowledge and experience of bereavement services to paper, when he published his first two books. The first - ‘A Guide to Natural Burial’ - is deemed to be the go-to manual for anyone wanting to understand the funeral and natural burial market or take control of their own funeral arrangements. The second is a novel entitled ‘R.I.P. Off! Or the British Way of Death’. It provides a unique insight into the world of death and funerals.
Here’s my interview with Ken West MBE, episode 003, on The Retirement Café podcast.
I'm delighted to welcome friend and highly respected solicitor, Kurt Lee, to the first interview on The Retirement Café Podcast.
Kurt has over 20 years' experience in tax planning. As well as being a solicitor, Kurt is a Chartered Tax Adviser - and this is what sets him apart. Kurt is partner at Lester Aldridge LLP specialising in Inheritance Tax, Capital Gains Tax and Trust Planning.
Tax rules in the UK are complex. When advising clients, Kurt breaks his tax advice into two distinct areas - tax you pay in your lifetime and tax you pay after death. In this podcast, Kurt discusses some of the strategies you can consider to pass on your hard earned wealth as tax efficiently as possible.
He also chats about how to avoid some of the most common inheritance tax traps people fall into.
Here's my conversation with Kurt Lee, in episode 002 of The Retirement Café Podcast.
In this episode, Justin King shares what you can expect from The Retirement Cafe Podcast.
Over the past 30 years, Justin has helped many people work their way through major transitions in their lives.
Ready or not, we all go through numerous transitions in our lives. These transitions are often life changing events that cause us to re-examine our status quo.
The transition into retirement has to be one of the most significant transitions you will face.
The Retirement Cafe Podcast recognises that the transition into retirement isn't purely a financial event; it's so much more. It's one of those life-changing events that requires you to plan, to adapt and to address those challenges and opportunities face on.
This podcast is designed to help you feel more informed and confident about all aspects of your retirement.