Mind Your Own Retirement

More than two-thirds of YourLifeChoices members receive either a full or part Age Pension. Which means dealing with Centrelink. Which often means frustration. In today’s episode of Mind Your Own Retirement, Centrelink general manager Hank Jongen tells Kaye and Deeksie how customers can avoid frustrating phone wait times and visits. This is advice from the top that you must hear.

Nicholas Morley is on a crusade to ease suffering through the use of medical cannabis oil. He explains the oil it can help and why it is not more widely available. Over-55s who suffer from arthritis, cancer, chronic pain and depression will learn much from this man on a mission.

And Leon recounts his trip through Ontario, talking all things Toronto, and how he saw Niagara Falls from every possible angle, as well as sharing the place where you can find the real Canada.

Deeksie and Kaye chat with Department of Human Services head honcho Hank Jongen (AKA Centrelink general manager) about that ‘robot’ striking fear into the hearts and minds of many age pensioners – robo-debt. But Hank is here to set your minds at ease, and explains why you might receive a letter and what to do if you do receive one.

It’s the perfect time of year to get back into your garden, says Janelle, who gabs about gardening, including what to plant and when and how sharing produce with neighbours can save your hip pocket and can be good for your health, too.

Finally, Kaye’s recent trip to Rome has her gushing about all thing Italian, which you’ll clearly hear as she recounts her meanderings through the marvellous museum that is Rome.

Official interest rates have dropped again and that’s not likely to be the end, the Reserve Bank has more than hinted. That’s why Deeksie and Janelle decided to chat with Bendigo Bank’s head of economics and market research for today’s Mind Your Own Retirement podcast. He explains the repercussions for retirees.

YourLifeChoices webmaster Drew knows a lot about tech – as you’d expect. Deeksie reveals that he has been having trouble remembering his dozen or so passwords so puts Drew under the griller to find a solution. Guess what? There is one.

Semi-retirement has opened up the world for YourLifeChoices friend Dairn. In the past two years it’s almost a case of ‘she’s been everywhere man’. Today she shares a journey that you might want to put on your bucket list – a cruise around Cape Horn in South America.

Learner drivers have L-plates and provisional drivers have P-plates. Should senior drivers be forced to display S-plates? As we age, our driving skills may diminish, but our experience might make up for any losses in that department. When to hang up the car keys is a hotly debated issue. On Mind Your Own Retirement today, co-hosts Janelle and ‘Deeksie’ talk with motoring writer Paul Murrell about whether S-plates really are a possibility for older drivers.

They also ask author and retirement expert Bruce Manners some pointy questions about life after work and how best to navigate the journey – or not.

And Liv offers some expert tips on how to get the most out of your travel budget, including her views on budget airlines and whether hostel accommodation is suitable for older travellers.

More than 440,000 Australians have dementia and that number is rising every year. In Dementia Action Week, episode 12 of YourLifeChoices’ Mind Your Own Retirement podcast talks with Maree McCabe, chief executive of Dementia Australia. She explains the research being done to change society’s attitudes towards people with dementia.

Channel 7’s John Deeks and YourLifeChoices’ editor Janelle Ward also talk with resident Centrelink expert Ben Hocking about why Centrelink may be regularly checking your bank account.

Then we head off to Cairns, where it’s 28°C most days in early spring, to chat with Kim Blain, the marketing manager of the five-star Shangri-La on the Marina. She tells why Cairns is the place to be and why it’s the perfect base to explore far north Queensland.

Q: What concerns you most about your retirement?

A: It could be one of three things, depending on your retirement tribe.

Listen up to today’s Mind Your Own Retirement podcast to learn the answers from the YourLifeChoices Ensuring financial security in retirement survey.

New research now suggests that Australians need to rethink their diets. Kaye chats with Heart Foundation dietitian Sian Armstrong about which of your favourite foods you can now indulge in and which you should strike from your weekly menu.

John and Kaye also talk with Webjet Exclusives general manager Brendan Sawyers, who explains how package holidays are so cheap, why they’re becoming increasingly popular for older travellers and where you can find once-in-a-lifetime holidays to bucket-list destinations at an affordable price.

Visit https://www.yourlifechoices.com.au/podcasts/mind-your-own-retirement to:

Download a free retirement roadmap to learn more about your retirement income options.

Download the 2019 financial discomfort in retirement report.

Find out more about The National Heart Foundation of Australia.

Find great deals from Webjet Exclusives from each of the top five bucket-list destinations – Canada and Alaska, the Middle East, China, Switzerland, Sri Lanka.

We've broken style in this week's Mind Your Own Retirement podcast, but that just means you get to spend a little more time with actor, writer, comedian and quizmeister Brian Nankervis.

You may know Brian as co-host of the ABC's The Friday Revue, or from RocKwiz, Hessie’s Shed, Hey Hey It’s Saturday or as his alter ego, street poet Raymond J. Bartholomeuz. Well, after today, you’ll know a whole lot more about him, as he regales Deeksie and Kaye with heart-warming tales of his childhood to what he’s up to these days and the secret to his seemingly endless well of happiness.

The team also talks about timing your retirement, including how to plan and transition into your post-work years, and preventing the one thing that can really ruin your holiday.

Older drivers don't like to be told they make mistakes, but seniordriveraus.com motoring writer Paul Murrell says there are some common driving errors most over 55s make and he lists them in episode eight of our Mind Your Own Retirement. The latest figures in the ACCC's Targeting Scams report reveal that in 2018 Australians lost half a billion dollars to scammers. Deeksie and Kaye discuss how to identify a scam and prevent yourself from being fleeced. Leon is back in the country after a week in Fiji. He reveals why this South Pacific haven is a must-visit travel destination, as well as the best way to see parts that would be otherwise inaccessible to most travellers.

Today’s Mind Your Own Retirement podcast is aims to educate and inform. Kaye and ‘Deeksie’ chat with Challenger’s chairman of retirement income, Jeremy Cooper, who offers his response to our members’ No.1 concern – running out of money, Donna Campbell from Destination Canada explains why you’d travel to Newfoundland and Labrador while Janelle Ward outlines what she learnt from the YourLifeChoices sleep poll.

Today’s Mind Your Own Retirement podcast is dedicated to sex with episode six appropriately renamed episode sex. Kaye and ‘Deeksie’ discuss the surprising results of YourLifeChoices' sex poll with editor Janelle Ward, learn about Susan's unexpected sexual encounter and receive five tips to improve intimacy from Leon Della Bosca.