Introduction

This really is the golden age for retirement. At the time this book is published (2010) many people will be secure financially because they have good occupational pensions. Thanks to modern medicine, you should have a long and active life ahead of you. If you still want to do some work there are likely to be many opportunities for you. The power of the ‘grey pound’ is now well understood so there are lots of great products and services being targeted specifically at you. Finally, society now has a much more positive attitude to more mature, and also less able, people.

As time goes by towards 2020, people will have to work longer and, unless you follow my advice about saving for retirement, then you will have to manage with smaller retirement incomes than those who retired before 2010. However this needn’t prevent you from having a brilliant retirement, so read on …

Many people have wonderful retirements, but I found often they had faced both serious and minor problems, many of which could have been avoided. This book allows you to learn from their experiences and insights.

I started to research this book a year before starting my own retirement and finished writing it 18 months after I had retired. I talked to literally hundreds of retired people and I found an interesting paradox – almost every retired person had forged a uniquely different retired life, while at the same time everyone I talked to raised the same issues time and again. Speaking personally I can honestly say that I have found those experiences very useful in my own transition into retirement.

I found many insights into both retirement and aging contained in the recent publications from academic researchers. This research agreed with what I learned from talking to retired people. However, the researchers also offered theories that helped explain their observations. These theories were often useful because they helped me to offer you advice on how to get the most out of your retirement. I was also very fortunate to get help from medical, financial and pensions experts.

This book contains not only a lot of relevant information, but also I have tried to ‘get off the fence’ and offer you opinionated advice that I believe will help you have a much more fulfilling retirement. Provided you interpret my advice to your own unique circumstances you should find this book extremely helpful.

My research identified the major issues that retired people felt I should cover, which includes:

• using your preparations for retirement to help you make an easier and better transition into retirement
• adjusting to the very real shock of retirement
• how to manage your savings, reduce your outgoings, maximise your income and other financial matters – whilst recognising when you are receiving self-serving advice from financial advisers
• how to maintain a positive state of mind, which is the key to managing your problems and staying happy
• how to enjoy the best possible health and to manage your health issues
• how to handle the strains that your retirement will place on your relationships with partners, family, friends and the rest of society
• how to maintain your independence so you can maximise the time you can continue to live in your own home.

There can be no ‘one size fits all’ formula, but you will be able to adapt my advice to your own unique circumstances, so that you can have a brilliant retirement. If you find the book helpful then please recommend it to friends and relatives.