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 a...

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 in...

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 servi...

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 he...

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 pe...

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 t...

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 loo...

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 curren...

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 o...

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 book...

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 .   A s 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 somet...

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 an...

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 he...

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 n...

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...

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...

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...

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 ot...

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 i...

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 th...

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...

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 t...

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 portf...

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 discu...