The Retirement Café Podcast

David Adams is a filmmaker (https://davidadamsfilms.com.au/) and photojournalist with a string of incredible documentaries under his belt. He specialises in expeditions to remote regions.

He has a passion for archaeology, anthropology and history, which has taken him to exotic locations worldwide including Iran, Siberia, the Pacific Rim, Northern and Central Africa in search of indigenous peoples and their disappearing cultures.

David even served as a war correspondent in Afghanistan and Georgia for a period.

Alongside travel industry expert David Mannix, David founded Arcadia Expeditions to create truly immersive and authentic travel experiences.

In our conversation David shares his passion for adventure and investigating the world around us, he explains Arcadia Expeditions' mission and the types of trips they organise, and why he believes meaningful and purposeful travel experiences can act as a catalyst for a more fulfilling life.

So if you are seeking more adventure in your life, I'm sure you'll enjoy my conversation with David Adams.

Sign up for my weekly newsletter and receive a FREE copy of My Care Consultant's comprehensive guide to NHS Continuing Healthcare. Click here to register.

This is Jacqueline's second time on the podcast – she appeared in episode 40 back in the summer of 2019. She is the founding director of My Care Consultant, a market-leader in helping people navigate the care system, and she is a fountain of knowledge in all things care related. I was delighted when Jaqueline agreed to come back and talk to me about NHS Continuing Healthcare.

It's a complex and often controversial topic because it's a benefit that seems to be so hard to secure. Currently only around 53,000 people in England are receiving NHS Continuing Healthcare funding, which perhaps reinforces its reputation as one of the most difficult benefits to claim successfully.

Well Jacqueline hopes to help change that. In our conversation she explains exactly what NHS Continuing Healthcare is and what the eligibility criteria are. She explains how to apply, what you can expect from the application process and, crucially, how to prepare to have the best chance of success.

We also chat about some of the challenges you are likely to face during the application process and how to overcome them.

This week we return to our series on the 9 Accelerators for a Successful Retirement – this is the 8th out of 9 episodes and we're talking about legacy planning.

Scroll down to find links to all previous episodes in this series.

The terms estate planning and legacy planning are often used interchangeably, and there is some cross-over. In my view, the aim of estate planning is to reduce the burden on your loved ones at the end of your life and after you're gone. So that ensures making sure your will, expression of wish, powers of attorney and any trusts are up to date. This should allow you to die organised. (Listen to my episode on estate planning here).

Legacy planning, however, is about leaving behind a legacy that makes a difference where it matters most to you.

In this episode Kathy and I chat about what to consider when deciding what you want your legacy to be, including charitable giving, passing on values and beliefs, and why we shouldn't wait until death to define our legacy.

Anthony Delauney is a Certified Financial Planner based in the USA and author of three financial education books, based on the ides of 'Owning the Dash'. He was inspired to create the concept by his late cousin.

In his work Anthony applies the concept of a fitness master to the art of family financial planning. He believes we need to develop a mindset necessary to own the dash between our start and end dates in life - to take control of our futures. And getting a grip of our finances is an important part of the philosophy.

So Anthony helps families to make sense of and manage their money. He tackles the topic of retirement planning in his book 'The No-Regrets Retirement Roadmap' and how to teach children important money lessons to children with his 'Dash and Nikki' and 'Lily and May' children's books.

Lisa Robinson, ex-Amazon executive, is the founder of Companiions - an online service that allows people to find support, assistance and company for themselves or their loved ones, helping them to stay connected.

It really is an amazing solution for those with elderly parents or family members who they feel might be a little isolated, but not yet ready for full on personal or medical care per se. What they really need is companionship, or someone to do a job or task for them that's become a little too challenging.

In our conversation Lisa explains her inspiration for setting up Companiions after years working for big corporates like Amazon and Sky. We also chat about how the service works, why the pandemic acted as a rocket-booster for her business, and the kind of people who can offer companionship or may be looking for it.

She tells stories of people from all sorts of backgrounds who have become companions to others, explains how their Companiions for Business service works, and how the charitable giving aspect of Companiions is growing.

Katie Waldegrave MBE is co-founder of Now Teach, an organisation aiming to encourage more experienced people into teaching. She met ex-finance journalist, Lucy Kellaway six years ago who was considering shifting career to become a teacher.

Given life is getting longer and our career patterns are changing, many people no longer expect – or want to – completely retire in their sixties. In the face of a teacher recruitment crisis, Katie believes that Now Teach can be part of the solution.

The charity aims to bring older people into classrooms - and keep them there long term. To the children they bring wisdom, experience of the world, perspective and careers advice. To the system they bring knowledge of other sectors, fresh ideas and status.

Experienced teacher and author Katie explains how Now Teach trains and supports career changers as they take the leap of faith into teaching as a second career. We chat about what makes an ideal teacher and the challenges and benefits of becoming a teacher in later life.

If you are considering a change of career, then this episode is for you.

Katie is also the founder of First Story, a charity that helps young people discover what it means to have a voice, while developing the skills and confidence to thrive in education and in life through writing.

Jamie Bunce is the CEO of retirement living operator Inspired Villages, a set of later living communities across the UK that have a focus on wellbeing and independence.

Jamie is passionate about how retirement communities can help retirees maintain their wellbeing as they get older. He hopes that preventative care will not only better the quality of life for the residents living in Inspired Villages, but also reduce the pressure on our NHS. Jamie strives to keep the physical, psychological, social and financial wellbeing of the residents at the forefront of everything Inspired Villages does.

In our conversation Jamie shares the importance of Inspired Villages' core value of always having time for a cup of tea, how the pandemic has brought home to people the importance of connecting with others regularly, and how Inspired Villages' communities deliver on being far more than just bricks and mortar.

He also explains the rental and purchase options and the costs involved in living in one of Inspired Villages complexes.

Jamie and I recorded this conversation a few months ago now and since then, Inspired Villages has gone from strength to strength. They now have 7 villages up and running, as opposed to the 6 mentioned in our conversation – with 3 more on the way. Inspired Villages is also now backed by a joint venture partnership between Legal & General and NatWest Group Pension Fund.

Julie Robinson is an award-winning fitness expert who has dedicated her career to motivating thousands of people to keep active in later life.

She has done this not only by being the fitness expert for a couple of women's magazines, but over the past 12 years she has run Move it or Lose it, the company she founded to actively help older people get moving.

In our conversation Julie shares the story behind her hugely successful enterprise, how it works and the scientific evidence behind the importance of maintaining our strength, balance and flexibility as we age – as Chris Tiley also endorsed on the podcast recently in his book 'Never Too Old to Lift'.

We also touch upon her most recent venture, MenoHealth – a support and fitness programme designed to empower and support women going through the menopause.

Chris Tiley is a physiotherapist based in Birmingham who has experience of working in hospitals, private practice and with elite sports people.

He has a passion for strength training and its benefits for the over 60s, which came from observing his clients' experiences of pain and suffering.

So, along with offering strength training advice and coaching at his physio practice, Chris has written a book called Never Too Old To Lift and has a blog of the same name.

I am a fan of strength training myself and have been working with a coach for over a year now, so I really enjoyed chatting with Chris about his book and what he's learnt about the benefits of strength training as we age.

If you're keen to stay strong, fit and mobile as you get older, then this episode is for you.

Will Rainey is a writer and speaker focused on helping parents teach their kids about money.

He has been living in Vietnam with his young family since 2019 after making the life changing decision to quit corporate life. The move was made possible by his lifelong habit of saving and investing, which gave him an idea for a new business.

Having been an investment consultant and actuary, Will now focuses his attention on helping parents and grandparents to teach their children and grandchildren about money through his business, Blue Tree Savings, and his recently published book, Grandpa's Fortune Fables.

Will's website, bluetreesavings.com, has helped thousands of parents start talking to their kids about money.

He chats with me about the power of stories to engage and educate young minds.