Martin Lewis has signalled his support for a novel yet simple piece of advice about retirement. He was very impressed by a tip shared by a pensioner fan of his BBC podcast, saying you may not think of this key consideration.
The finance expert asked his fans who had already retired to send in their words of wisdom about giving up work and moving into their golden years. One person sent in a word of caution about when exactly you retire.
They said: “Don’t retire in January. It’s a harder way to start retirement than waiting until the summer months when you can get out.”
Mr Lewis backed the suggestion. He said: “That’s very interesting, isn’t it? You wouldn’t think of that. You can absolutely see why that works. Well done.” Mr Lewis went on to explain why it may be a good idea to think of the time of year when you set your retirement date for.
The consumer advocate said: “If I had nothing to do, I would prefer to have nothing to do when it’s 21 degrees [centigrade] outside than when it’s zero degrees and raining and dark.” Another fan of the show had a tip which included a word of warning about the time of year.
They said: “Maintain a sense of purpose, whether by volunteering, doing casual work, having hobbies. The first summer is joyous, but the first winter without purpose can be very depressing.”
Reflecting on his own busy life and the prospect of retirement, Mr Lewis said: “There are times when I think, I’d just like to stop. But then I think, What would I do if I did? What would fill me, what would give the purpose to do?”
In contrast, another person reminded retirees that you are entitled to take it easy in your golden years if that is your choice. They said that once you retire, you may be asked what do you all day, to which you can answer “Whatever I want”.
They gave the example of their leisurely plans to spend “all afternoon” watching the cricket simply because “I want to and I can”. Mr Lewis gave a round of applause to this approach.
If you are thinking about timings for your retirement, there is a key rules change you may want to bear in mind. The age when you can access the state pension will be increasing later this year.
The state pension age is going up from the current 66, from April 2026. The access age will move up gradually to reach 67 by April 2028.
You can check how much state pension you are on track to receive with the state pension forecast tool on the Government website. The full new state pension currently pays £230.25 a week, with payments set to increase 4.8 percent in April in line with the triple lock policy.
Ensure our latest headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as your Preferred Source in your Google search settings.
