The Retirement Café Podcast

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 kn...

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...

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...

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 perfec...

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 ar...

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 su...

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 esta...

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...

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 l...

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 old...

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 t...

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...

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 influe...

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...

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...

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...

Sign up for my weekly newsletter and receive a FREE copy of My Care Consultant's comprehensive guide to NHS Continuing Healthcare. Click here to register. 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 kno...

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 o...

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 an...

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....

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 o...

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 Villag...

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...

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 bo...

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 focu...