The Retirement Café Podcast

This series is designed to support and promote the agenda of The Longevity Week, which takes place this week - between the 9th and 13th of November.

The Longevity Week is an initiative created by The Longevity Forum, whose co-founder Professor Andrew J Scott was my guest on the 100th episode of the podcast. The aim of The Longevity Week is to promote dialogue and test ideas on the future of longevity.

One of the speakers is Tina Woods.

Tina's credentials in the longevity arena are vast. She is co-founder and CEO of Longevity International, a social enterprise that brings together industry, academic and government stakeholders to drive both discussion and positive change around the longevity agenda.

Tina also leads the All Party Parliamentary Group for Longevity, which launched 'The Health of the Nation Strategy' supported by Secretary of State for Health and Care Matt Hancock, earlier this year.

She also founded Collider Health, a social enterprise aiming to inspire and equip young people with the science and technology skills for the future, and recently published her book 'Live Longer with AI: How artificial intelligence us helping us extend our healthspans and live better too'.

Have you ever wondered how the financial experts and pundits who advise on how we should invest our money do, indeed, invest their own?

An unprecedented new book from behavioural finance expert and founder of the financial wellness platform Shaping Wealth, Brian Portnoy, and co-founder and chief executive of Ritholtz Wealth Management, Joshua Brown, changes all that.

In 'How I Invest My Money: Finance Experts Reveal How They Save, Spend and Invest' 25 high-profile industry experts - including the authors - share the 'whys' and 'hows' of their investments.

Brian joins me on the podcast to explain how the contributors' personal stories help reinforce the idea that every situation is unique, and investing is a matter of perspective. Virtually every essayist in the book offers an unapologetic example of investing in something that defies the laws of financial logic, which proves there are many ways to invest and that perspective is key.

With engaging illustrations by previous podcast guest Carl Richards, Brian's book inspires readers to think creatively about their financial decisions and how money figures in the broader quest of a content life.

Series 6 'The Story of their Lives': Episode 2.

Mark spent nearly four decades working in the law. Not intentionally.

He studied law at college to give him three more years to consider what he really wanted to do. He then spent forty years planning an exit, even though exiting law is difficult in practice.

Eventually, Mark realised that thinking about retiring from the law wasn't productive, so instead Mark thought about what he wanted to retire TO.

In his book 'And .. just like that: Essays on Life Before, During and After the Law' and in our conversation, Mark shares his story of deciding to move on to what he calls the next season of life.

He explains why coaching support was so important in helping him transition successfully.

As a coach, Registered Life Planner and trainer with the Kinder Institute myself, Mark was preaching to the converted. I've seen first-hand on many occasions how beneficial coaching is for people of all ages going through a major transition in life, so it was great to hear how this helped Mark.

Seven years ago, Shannon McLay was working as a financial advisor with a big corporate bank feeling disheartened about the work she was during. The pro bono work she was doing helping people who couldn't really afford her advice proved to be so much more fulfilling.

So Shannon founded The Financial Gym.

Based on a fitness-inspired approach to planning and managing your money, The Financial Gym aims to get 1 million people financially fit.

Shannon recognises the key to success for most people is having the on-going behavioural support to continue to make smart decisions about your money.

Tune in to hear Shannon's story and more about The Financial Gym's approach great financial health - regardless of your bank balance.

50 year olds today could be looking at another 50 years of life ahead of them, so it's the perfect time to ask "What's your 20 year plan?"

Do you find that question liberating or frightening?

Stuart Lewis, founder of Rest Less, joins me on the podcast to share the work that he is doing to inspire today's generation of over 50s and 60s to get the most from life.

Rest Less focuses on lifestyle, learning, financial wellbeing, work, volunteering and community. And that includes helping people make sure they have their ladder against the right wall.

We discuss later life apprenticeships, volunteering and appreciating your transferable skills.

I am honoured to be joined by the pre-eminent authority on longevity and co-author of 'The 100 Year Life', Professor Andrew J Scott, to celebrate the 100th episode of The Retirement Café podcast.

Andrew J. Scott is Professor of Economics at London Business School and a consulting scholar at Stanford University's Center on Longevity.

He is best known as the co-author of two groundbreaking books that have taken the world by storm: 'The 100 Year Life', published in 2016 and his second book with Lynda Gratton 'The New Long Life'.

Through multi-award-winning research, writing and teaching, Professor Scott's pioneering work and ideas inform a global understanding of the profound shifts reshaping our world and impacting us all, and envision the actions needed for us to flourish individually and as a society.

Board member and advisor to a range of corporates and governments, he is co-founder of The Longevity Forum, an organisation aimed at achieving healthier longer lives, and member of the Cabinet Office Honours Committee (Science and Technology).

We discuss Andrew's books and what how we need to change our approach to life if we're to live 100 years successfully.

In today's episode we are revisiting a topic that I know many listeners are concerned about, and that's making sure your voice is heard and understood at the end of life – even when you lose capacity to do so yourself.

Many things are outside of our control when it comes to how and when we finally shuffle off this mortal coil, but there are ways in which we can at least make our wishes known.

Sarah Malik is a Specialist Information and Support Nurse with the charity, Compassion in Dying. In our conversation she explains the difference between an Advanced Statement and an Advanced Decision and what these documents enable you to do.

She also explains how the Compassion in Dying charity can help you, without charge.

Mark Fitzgerald works for Vanguard, an investor-owned, leading asset management company. He is Head of Product Specialism in the ETF Stream. He joins me to talk about ESG investing.

ESG which stands for Environmental, Social and Governance, but Mark explains what each of these terms really means. He also outlines where the selection of ESG or other funds fits within the broader investing process.

We discuss how Vanguard builds investment portfolios that meet consumer demands, for example excluding munitions and tobacco, the challenges this brings and what investors should consider when deciding whether to pursue an ESG-friendly investment portfolio.

Mark explains Vanguard's approach to some specific companies such as Apple and Tesla and whether Vanguard itself would make the ESG-grade!

This is a highly informative episode for anyone interested in investing and taking a more environmentally or socially responsible approach to investing.

Katrina Moss is one of those people who has had a really varied career both working for other people and for herself. She created four businesses of her own over the years in completely different sectors, so has shown her tremendous adaptability.

Friend and client Katrina shares the story of her life with a focus on the last decade, which was far from a gentle transition into semi-retirement.

She faced a plethora of challenges including moving house after 30 years in the same home, caring for her terminally-ill mum and subsequently sorting out her complex financial affairs and founding her latest venture – the UK's biggest art competition exploring spirituality.

Katrina joins me to share her ethos of living into the fullness of everyday life.

Steve appeared in episode 87 back in July to discuss State Pensions in general and more specifically his recent report that explores whether thousands of older women are being short-changed on their State Pension. You can listen to that episode here.

If you're not familiar with the name, Steve served as Pensions Minister in the coalition government of David Cameron for 5 years.

In this second episode, Steve and I discuss some of the major pension reforms he oversaw during his time with the DWP, including:

- the success story that is auto enrolment

- what's worked about pension freedoms legislation introduced in 2015

Steve also shares the changes around pension legislation he would love to see coming next and what his retirement might look like in a few years' time.