The Retirement Café Podcast

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 A...

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 s...

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 th...

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 o...

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 repl...

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 t...

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...

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 schoo...

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...

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 neg...

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 t...

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 Denni...

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 thei...

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...

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 ma...

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 y...

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 sh...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 Weal...

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 d...

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 inv...

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 w...