Feature story: The mid year financial checkin for those approaching retirement

The Times: How to overcome the fear that ruins retirements

From Bec’s Desk: I’m coming to London later this year

The mid year financial checkin for those approaching retirement

Most of us do this with our diaries, our fitness goals, maybe our finances in a loose “how’s the bank balance and are the bills paid looking” way. There’s a shorter, more useful version of this that’s worth doing this weekend, especially if you’re heading for retirement and it’s the one most people put off until it’s forced on them: an honest look at where your pension actually stands.

I don’t mean a full review. I mean a handful of questions you can answer over one cup of tea.

Start with your State Pension forecast. Not the number you remember from a couple of years ago, the actual current one. It changes as your National Insurance record changes, and gaps are more common than people assume, especially if you’ve had time off work, been self-employed, or worked abroad at any point. It takes about five minutes on gov.uk and it’s genuinely the most useful single number you can have in your head when you’re working out when you can afford to stop.

Then there’s the question of whether you actually know where all your pensions are. If you’ve had more than a couple of jobs over the years, there’s a decent chance you’ve got a pot sitting somewhere you haven’t thought about since you left that role. Those forgotten pots tend to sit in old default funds, racking up fees while doing very little. The government’s pension tracing service is free, and it takes about as long as making that cup of tea.

Worth asking too: are you still contributing what you think you’re contributing? Pay rises happen and contribution rates often just stay where they were set. If you’ve had a pay bump this year and haven’t touched your pension contribution since, this is a good weekend to fix that.

If you’re in your mid-50s, there’s one more thing worth flagging. From April 2028, the earliest age you can access most private pensions moves from 55 to 57. The cutoff runs on your birthday, not your circumstances: turn 55 before 6 April 2028 and you keep access at 55, be born after 5 April 1973 and you’ll need to wait until you’re 57. Worth understanding how this plays into your plans for tax free cash or drawdown.

While you’re checking dates, look at your default fund’s target retirement date too. Most workplace pensions automatically start shifting you out of growth assets and into bonds and cash as you approach that date, a process called lifestyling. It’s meant to protect your pot as you get close to using it. The problem is that date is often whatever you put down years ago, or a default the scheme assumed, and if it doesn’t match when you actually plan to stop working, you can end up sitting in low-growth assets for five or ten years longer than you need to, potentially losing out on growth at exactly the point your pot is at its biggest. Takes two minutes to check what date your scheme has on file and whether it still matches your plan.

And then there’s the bigger, less tidy question: does your plan and vision for retirement still match your life? A lot can shift in a year or two. A parent might need more support than you expected. You might have realised you want to scale work back rather than walk away from it entirely. Your idea of what retirement even looks like might have moved to a slower exit from the workplace with more flexibility - as it is for so many trying to get there with an adequate pot. It might mean a re-do on your plan, or just a few tweaks.

You don’t need an adviser or a big decision to do any of this. You need ten minutes and the willingness to actually look through these difficult-sounding things instead of assuming it’s all going to be fine. Most people who do this find their situation is either better than they feared, or fixable in a way that felt bigger in their head than it turns out to be.

If you only do one thing this weekend, check your State Pension forecast, your pensions and your contributions - see if you can make any extra. It’s the fastest, and it’s the number everything else hangs off.

Happy Sunday. I’ve been busy this week booking my next trip to the UK. I’m coming out for some fun events in mid October in London and online - looking forward to sharing more about it with you soon. If you have any epic things I can squeeze in while I’m there - reply to this email and suggest them. I’m always keen for events and activities that help build retirement confidence.

I hope you caught the news last week that the UK edition of How to Have an Epic Retirement has just been named Kindle’s 99p Book of the Month. For the whole of July you can grab it on Kindle for less than the price of a coffee, so if you’ve been meaning to read it, this is the moment. Get your copy here.

Second, and this one I’m genuinely chuffed about: the pilot of the Epic Retirement UK Course wrapped up two weeks ago and it went so well that we’ve turned it into an on-demand program, which means you can start it whenever suits you rather than waiting for a set intake. You can purchase your ticket and get started here.

It includes:

• 6 weeks of online retirement lessons (14 modules of lessons)

• Access to our recorded online Q&As (3 of them - we recorded them during the pilot)

• An invitation to 4 live Q&A events over the year ahead with retirement experts - we will develop a calendar of events for our program attendees - held at least quarterly, if not more frequently.

• A digital Conversation Starter workbook

• Fully integrated activities that bring the course to life

• A digital copy of How to Have an Epic Retirement - The UK Edition

Learn more

We’ve put a dedicated web page together for the course - which you can view here and download a brochure. There’s some great testimonials over there.

Now - enjoy your Sunday. Hope to see you on the course

Bec Xx

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

I am the retirement columnist for The Times, UK. You can read my most recent column here or look through all my columns here.

How to overcome the fear that ruins retirements

Foro — the fear of running out of money — affects even those with more than enough savings. Far better to start spending and enjoy a life well lived

Retirement comes with a big problem that we don’t talk about enough. There are people sitting on perfectly good pensions with quite healthy savings and no mortgages who cannot bring themselves to spend their money. They know that the numbers add up and they may even have a financial adviser who has told them they are going to be fine yet still they balk at the idea of spending.

This is called foro — the fear of running out. And it is more widespread, more stubborn and far more costly than most want to admit.

It can mean a life not lived to its fullest: trips not taken, bathrooms and kitchens not renovated, and years of the good stuff put off for the hypothetical “one day” that never seems to arrive. Meanwhile the money sits there doing nothing particularly useful and those who are meant to be enjoying their best years grow older.

The article was published in The Times, on Thursday July 7 and is available for reading here.

Got a topic you’d like me to cover? Send me a message

Simply hit reply and send me a note. I’m keen to know what’s worrying you, what is driving you and what you want more conversation and education about.

Why do I write a separate newsletter for the UK?

I write a separate newsletter specifically for the UK, because the financial system here is completely different to Australia, where I’m based. Your retirement is shaped by the State Pension, workplace pensions, ISAs and HMRC rules. Not superannuation or the Australian Age Pension.

If I just sent you the Australian version with a few words swapped out, it wouldn’t actually be useful to you. And useful is the whole point.

The big conversations, about when to step back from work, what you want the next chapter to look like, how to make your money last, those are universal. But the practical detail needs to reflect the system you’re actually living in. So that’s what we’ve built here. Tell your friends - we want to help you make your retirement epic - the UK way.

Feature story: Who are you when the job title is gone?

The Times: How to overcome the fear that ruins retirements

From Bec’s Desk: A new on-demand Epic Retirement UK course launches today plus Epic Retirement the book is 99p in July!

Who are you when the job title is gone?

Nobody warns you about the day you walk away from your job title.

The retirement conversation, the one that fills books and seminars and financial planning appointments, is almost entirely about money - pensions and tax. How much you need. When you can leave. Whether the number is big enough. Whether you’ve done the sums correctly.

And then people get there, they do the sums and they do leave. And somewhere in the first weeks or months of retirement, usually on a quiet Tuesday morning when the diary is empty and there’s nowhere to be, no-one to talk to - and a question surfaces that nobody prepared them for.

Who am I now?

Not what will I do - that’s the ‘busy’ version of the question, and it’s easier to answer. Who am I. Without the role and without the title. Without the structure that told me, every single day for forty years, where I belonged and what I was worth.

It sounds like ingratitude, which is why people don’t say it out loud. You’ve worked your whole life for this freedom. You’re supposed to be relieved. And you are - and also, underneath the relief, quite destabilised in a way you weren’t expecting and can’t quite explain to anyone who hasn’t been through it.

This is more common than you think

Research on retirement wellbeing consistently finds that the people who struggle most in the transition aren’t the ones who ran out of money. They’re the ones who ran out of identity. Who built a sense of self so thoroughly inside their career that when the career ended, they didn’t know quite who was left.

And this is an entirely logical result of spending four decades in systems that rewarded you for for making work central to your life, for letting the job define the schedule and the relationships and the sense of purpose and the answer to the question people ask at dinner parties. What do you do?

When the answer to that question changes, more changes with it than most people anticipate.

The people who navigate it well

Here’s what the research shows, and what I’ve seen over and over again in the people who make the transition look almost easy.

They didn’t find their identity after they left work. They built it before they went.

They cultivated friendships that had nothing to do with the office. They stayed curious about things that had no career application whatsoever. They developed skills or practices or contributions that existed entirely outside their professional life and not as retirement hobbies they were saving up for one day, but as things that mattered to them now, that gave them a sense of self that didn’t depend on a salary to survive.

They answered the question who am I outside of this job while they were still in it. And they built up things over time. Which meant that when the job ended, the answer was already there, waiting.

So if you’re still in the run-up

The best retirement planning you can do right now isn’t just financial. It’s asking yourself - honestly, not in a bucket-list way but in a Tuesday-morning way, who you are outside of what you do for a living.

Not who you want to be, who you are. What you care about. What you’d do if nobody was watching and nothing counted toward a performance review. What kind of person shows up when the job title is removed from the introduction.

That person is going to need to be enough some day very soon. And the good news is that for most people - once they’ve had the space to actually meet them - they are.

More than enough, as it turns out.

I have two bits of fun news:

1. The UK Edition of How to Have an Epic Retirement is Kindle 99p Book of the Month! Seriously! You can pick up a copy on Amazon Kindle for 99p in the month of July. So don’t wait - get in there. Get your copy here.

2. The last week of the Epic Retirement UK Course pilot has gone so well that we’ve flipped it into an on-demand program you can access when it suits you to do the course. You can purchase your ticket and complete it here. It’s an on-demand program now that runs for six weeks from whenever you start it.

It includes:

• 6 weeks of online retirement lessons (14 modules of lessons)

• Access to our recorded online Q&As (3 of them - we recorded them during the pilot)

• An invitation to 4 live Q&A events over the year ahead with retirement experts - we will develop a calendar of events for our program attendees - held at least quarterly, if not more frequently.

• A digital Conversation Starter workbook

• Fully integrated activities that bring the course to life

• A digital copy of How to Have an Epic Retirement - The UK Edition

Learn more

The testimonials from our pilot program are brilliant - and a little bit humbling! Thank you to everyone who joined the pilot!

This course really helped me to feel in control in my retirement and removed the slight anxieties I had when it came to my finances for that period. Now I know what to ask a financial adviser, how to proportion my finances and how to enjoy my epic retirement!

If you don’t know how or when to retire and are confused about the financial and personal aspects of this then do consider doing this course. It is grounded in evidence and science, with practical exercises and helps you to identify a way forward - for now or the future. It has helped me to be more confident about the next stage in my life - and that my retirement journey can be an evolving journey with many epic adventures that I will have fun planning. Janet S.

This course has been a wonderful and supportive experience. My knowledge and confidence has grown. I have been able to reflect on all the different dimensions of retirement (so much more than just the finances) and I am genuinely excited to plan and embark on this exciting phase of life. Thank you so much to Bec and the team who have put this together.

Now - enjoy your Sunday. Hope to see you on the course

Bec Xx

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

I am the retirement columnist for The Times, UK. You can read my most recent column here or look through all my columns here.

How to overcome the fear that ruins retirements

Foro — the fear of running out of money — affects even those with more than enough savings. Far better to start spending and enjoy a life well lived

Retirement comes with a big problem that we don’t talk about enough. There are people sitting on perfectly good pensions with quite healthy savings and no mortgages who cannot bring themselves to spend their money. They know that the numbers add up and they may even have a financial adviser who has told them they are going to be fine yet still they balk at the idea of spending.

This is called foro — the fear of running out. And it is more widespread, more stubborn and far more costly than most want to admit.

It can mean a life not lived to its fullest: trips not taken, bathrooms and kitchens not renovated, and years of the good stuff put off for the hypothetical “one day” that never seems to arrive. Meanwhile the money sits there doing nothing particularly useful and those who are meant to be enjoying their best years grow older.

The article was published in The Times, on Thursday July 7 and is available for reading here.

Got a topic you’d like me to cover? Send me a message

Simply hit reply and send me a note. I’m keen to know what’s worrying you, what is driving you and what you want more conversation and education about.

Why do I write a separate newsletter for the UK?

I write a separate newsletter specifically for the UK, because the financial system here is completely different to Australia, where I’m based. Your retirement is shaped by the State Pension, workplace pensions, ISAs and HMRC rules. Not superannuation or the Australian Age Pension.

If I just sent you the Australian version with a few words swapped out, it wouldn’t actually be useful to you. And useful is the whole point.

The big conversations, about when to step back from work, what you want the next chapter to look like, how to make your money last, those are universal. But the practical detail needs to reflect the system you’re actually living in. So that’s what we’ve built here. Tell your friends - we want to help you make your retirement epic - the UK way.

Welcome to the UK edition.Thanks for reading Epic Retirement UK! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Feature story: The thing most people don’t realise they’re buying when they pay for financial advice

The Times: ‘We had to sell our home’ — the reality of retirement without savings

From Bec’s Desk: the course continues

The thing most people don’t realise they’re buying when they pay for financial advice

I talk to people in the pensions and financial advice industry regularly. And there’s a widespread understanding amongst them about how people get advice and invest for retirement. What there isn’t, is much appetite to talk about how that’s changing because I’m not sure everyone wants you to understand it.

But it is changing. Largely without the people it affects most, everyday pension holders, knowing much about it. And I think it’s time we talked about it more openly, and without bias.

Here’s what most people think happens when they go to see an independent financial adviser.

They think they’ll pay for advice. Someone will look over their whole financial situation, track down their old workplace pensions, consider how everything is currently invested, work out whether those pensions are still fit for purpose, review their other investments and recommend the best path forward.

That’s certainly part of the process. Increasingly though, that’s not always where the conversation ends.

A pattern that’s becoming more common is for advisers to recommend consolidating old defined contribution pension pots into a SIPP on an investment platform, with the adviser then taking on the ongoing management of those investments. Your current workplace pension will often stay where it is while you’re still employed, but older pension pots are frequently part of that discussion. Once you retire, your current workplace pension may become part of it too.

For many people, that may be exactly the right solution. But it’s also a fundamentally different service from simply receiving retirement advice and choosing the best performing or best value for money pension to consolidate into.

To be fair, there are good reasons advisers recommend this approach. Platforms can make it easier to consolidate pensions, manage retirement income, rebalance investments over time, access a broader range of investments and review your strategy as your circumstances change. They can also make it easier for advisers to deliver those services efficiently. For people with more complex financial affairs, tax planning opportunities or who genuinely want ongoing advice and investment management, they can be an excellent solution.

A SIPP on an investment platform isn’t simply a recommendation about where your pension should sit. It’s a different structure entirely. You’re moving from your existing pension arrangement into an ongoing investment management relationship.

There’s another distinction many consumers don’t realise.

IFAs are required to understand your financial situation, objectives, attitude to risk and relevant personal circumstances before making recommendations.

They are not automatically required to carry out a whole-of-market comparison of pension providers unless that’s within the agreed scope of the advice. Their job is to recommend a suitable solution for your circumstances, but the scope of what they review is usually agreed at the beginning of the engagement.

That’s an important distinction.

One senior executive from a large pension provider told me recently that, in his view, the overwhelming majority of people who seek independent financial advice ultimately have their old pension pots consolidated onto an investment platform. I can’t independently verify that estimate, but after years of speaking with people across the pensions and advice industries, it’s certainly consistent with the direction the market appears to be heading.

That doesn’t mean the recommendation is wrong.

It does mean consumers should understand why this model has become so common.

When an adviser recommends consolidating your pensions onto a platform and then manages those investments on an ongoing basis, they create an ongoing revenue stream.

The Financial Conduct Authority says ongoing advice fees average around 0.8% of assets each year. By the time platform charges and underlying investment costs are added, total ongoing charges can approach around 1.9% annually.

Think of it like a subscription.

Many people don’t fully appreciate they’re signing up for an ongoing investment management service rather than simply paying for retirement advice. Around 80% of adviser charging revenue comes from ongoing services, making recurring advice the core commercial model for many firms.

That means the adviser who develops a one-off retirement strategy and leaves your pensions where they are will generally earn less than one who recommends a platform and manages your investments for many years.

None of that means a platform is the wrong recommendation. IFAs are regulated by the FCA, are required to make suitable recommendations and must comply with the Consumer Duty. But it does mean it’s worth understanding the commercial model before deciding whether it’s the right solution for you.

If you have multiple pension pots, significant assets, tax planning opportunities, more complex retirement income needs, or genuinely want someone managing your investments throughout retirement, they can be worth every penny.

But for many people approaching retirement who are already in well-run, competitively priced workplace pension schemes, another perfectly reasonable outcome may be to stay exactly where they are.

They might simply need retirement advice.

That could mean reviewing how their pensions are invested, setting up a retirement income strategy, deciding how and when to draw from different pension pots, understanding the State Pension, planning withdrawals tax-efficiently and reviewing their position every year or two.

If you’re over 50, Pension Wise also offers free, impartial, government-backed guidance to help you understand your retirement options before you pay for advice.

If your adviser recommends moving your pensions onto a platform, it’s worth understanding exactly what you’re swapping.

You’re potentially moving away from workplace pension schemes with significant governance, institutional buying power and large investment teams behind them into a structure where your investments are typically managed through portfolios recommended by your adviser and often constructed by external investment managers.

That may absolutely be the better solution for you.

Or it may not.

The important thing is understanding why the move is being recommended, what additional value you’ll receive, and whether that value is worth the additional cost.

My biggest concern is that people who simply want retirement advice, without necessarily moving their pensions onto a platform, may not realise that’s even an option.

If that’s what you want, say so.

Ask whether the adviser is happy to provide strategic retirement advice while leaving your existing pensions where they are or consolidating into your most attractive pot, if that’s the most appropriate recommendation.

Then ask these five questions.

• What will happen to my pensions, and what will it cost in total compared with what I’m paying today?

• What would your recommendation look like if I kept my existing pensions where they are or choose one to consolidate into and manage that myself?

• Do I actually need ongoing investment management, or do I mainly need a retirement strategy?

• How do you select, monitor and review my investments if I move onto a platform?

• Why are you recommending I move onto a platform, and can you show me why that’s likely to leave me better off?

Good IFAs won’t hesitate to answer those questions.

And there are genuinely excellent advisers throughout the UK, just as there are excellent platforms.

But walking into the conversation understanding the difference between retirement advice and ongoing investment management changes everything.

The point isn't to avoid financial advice. It's to understand what you're buying, what you're paying for, and whether it's the right service for you.

Note: This article relates to defined contribution pensions only. If you have a defined benefit (final salary) pension, the rules around transferring are very different and regulated financial advice is generally required before any transfer can proceed. These pensions can be extremely valuable and are often best left untouched. Please seek specialist regulated advice before making any decisions.

The heatwave is all I’m hearing about from our UK community right now. I hope everyone is faring well and that the heat is dissipating.

This week in the UK Epic Retirement course we’ve enjoyed our second live Q&A with the energetic IFA and author, Dan Haylett. It was terrific. And it allowed people to unpack the lessons they’re learning diligently.

The six week course is going well. We’re now in week 5 and we’ve really been enjoying everyone’s feedback. A little taste:

• “The course is fantastic: so clearly and well structured. Thank you”

• “I have been enjoying this course immensely. I feel much more confident in my understanding of how this thing called retirement works!”

• “I loved the phrase that doing wills and funeral planning is an “act of care” and will include that in conversations.”

Our Epic Retirement UK Flagship Course is going so well that we’ll be flipping it into an on-demand program you can access when it suits you to do the course as soon as the Summer program completes. You can register your interest for our full release here. We’ll offer a special deal for those who are pre-registered.

Enjoy the tail end of the heatwave. Hope it breaks soon.

Bec Xx

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

I am the retirement columnist for The Times, UK. You can read my most recent column here or look through all my columns here.

‘We had to sell our home’ - the reality of retirement without savings

With an estimated 15 million undersaving for later life, many will find they have to make compromises to avoid hardship

Vivian divorced in 1990 and raised her three children with no financial support from their father. She couldn’t afford a private pension, and had almost nothing in workplace savings, despite decades of work, sometimes three jobs at a time just to make ends meet.

She should have retired last year but is working full time on minimum wage to cover her rent and keep her lights on. For her, a comfortable or even modest retirement is a long way from reality. The state pension will be her main source of income.

She is one of the members of my Facebook group, Epic Retirement Club, who shared their experiences this week. In a group full of proactive planners working hard to get ahead and use the systems of retirement to ensure that they will be comfortable, not many were willing to come forward in public and talk about what it feels like to not be on target. But plenty sent in private messages about their plight. It’s tough out there. And many of those who have retired, or who should have retired, are just scraping by.

The conversation came after the latest Retirement Living Standards from the industry body Pensions UK, which set out the estimated incomes needed for comfortable, moderate and minimum lifestyles in retirement - numbers that lay out what it really costs. Last month the government’s Pensions Commission reported that 15 million people in the UK were undersaving for retirement.

The article was published in The Times, on Thursday June 11 and is available for reading here.

Got your copy of How to Have an Epic Retirement - the UK edition yet? Order it now on Amazon here.

Got a topic you’d like me to cover? Send me a message

Simply hit reply and send me a note. I’m keen to know what’s worrying you, what is driving you and what you want more conversation and education about.

Why do I write a separate newsletter for the UK?

I write a separate newsletter specifically for the UK, because the financial system here is completely different to Australia, where I’m based. Your retirement is shaped by the State Pension, workplace pensions, ISAs and HMRC rules. Not superannuation or the Australian Age Pension.

If I just sent you the Australian version with a few words swapped out, it wouldn’t actually be useful to you. And useful is the whole point.

The big conversations, about when to step back from work, what you want the next chapter to look like, how to make your money last, those are universal. But the practical detail needs to reflect the system you’re actually living in. So that’s what we’ve built here. Tell your friends - we want to help you make your retirement epic - the UK way.

Welcome to the UK edition.Thanks for reading Epic Retirement UK! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Feature story: The retirement tool the industry doesn’t want you using (but you already are)

The Times: ‘We had to sell our home’ — the reality of retirement without savings

From Bec’s Desk: Help me explore whether you’d use an Epic Retirement Tick for UK Workplace Pension funds

The retirement tool the industry doesn’t want you using (but you already are)

Something is happening at kitchen tables across the UK, and the financial services industry is quite often losing its mind, loudly, about it.

People are asking AI about their retirement. How much money they need, and how to invest, and how to plan for it. They’re even asking Claude to build Excel-style financial models, and it can do that straight from the ordinary chat window, with no special setup needed.

They’re not asking their adviser first, or their pension provider’s helpline, or even their brother-in-law who works in finance and holds court at Christmas. They’re opening up ChatGPT or Claude on their phone and typing the questions they’ve been too embarrassed to ask anyone: What does tax relief actually mean? Is my pension actually being invested well? If I retire at 60, will I run out of money?

Let’s face it - that last question matters and there’s a particular kind of shame that comes with not understanding your own financial situation in your 50s, when you feel like you should have it sorted by now. AI gives people a judgment-free place to start asking questions and building understanding.

And here’s where I part ways with most of the financial industry on this. I love it. The agency it gives you to be curious and consider things from different perspectives is powerful. The fact it can build you a genuinely useful spreadsheet, one you can fill in with your own numbers and take straight to your adviser, is nothing short of fabulous.

The standard adviser response to AI is some version of “be careful, it gets things wrong, come and see a professional instead.” And yes - AI does get things wrong. I catch it out all the time. It uses old data, leaves a critical number like inflation out of a calculation or a spreadsheet, or simply doesn’t grasp the interplay between the State Pension and your workplace pension, ISAs and tax - unless you prompt it to. I push back, ask it to check things, or feed it the correct facts straight from gov.uk, and you need to be aware of those limitations if you use it.

There’s lots of studies being done on this. In one study, it gave incorrect or incomplete answers to about a third of the financial questions it was asked.

So let me be clear. It probably doesn’t know your full picture. And without it, it can’t model your real tax situation, and even with it - I’d be worried you left something out. It has blind spots around things like sequencing risk and social care costs that could actually hurt you if you act on its answers without understanding what’s missing.

But the solution to that isn’t to avoid AI. It’s to know enough that you’re not dangerous when you use it.

Here’s what I mean by that. If you ask AI “will I have enough to retire?” and you don’t know what questions to follow up with - about drawdown rates, about inflation, about what happens if markets fall in your first few years of retirement - you’ll get a confident-sounding answer that might be quietly wrong in ways you won’t spot. AI doesn’t volunteer what it left out. It answers what you asked.

But if you understand the basics? Suddenly you’re having a completely different conversation. You’re the one steering. You’re asking better questions, pushing back when something doesn’t add up, and using AI the way it’s actually meant to be used - as a thinking partner, not an oracle.

That’s always been the whole point of what we do here. Not to replace professional advice, but to give you enough understanding to be a smart consumer of every resource available to you. So that when you talk to your pension provider, you know what to ask. When you see a financial adviser, you understand what they’re telling you. And yes - when you open up Claude at 11pm with a question you’ve been sitting on for months, you know how to make that conversation count.

AI hasn’t changed that mission. It’s just made it more important to learn and know your stuff.

So use the tools and ask the questions you’ve been too embarrassed to ask. Just make sure you’re building the knowledge alongside it, so you’re the one in charge of your retirement decisions, not the algorithm.

I’m smiling ear to ear this week because the mid-course feedback rolling in on our Australian and UK Epic Retirement courses, both running right now, is just so good. I feel incredibly proud of our six-week retirement education program which just keeps getting better.

It’s the main part of what we do here at the Epic Retirement Institute: helping people understand how retirement actually works so they can make better decisions and feel more confident about the future with a 6-week course.

Humour me while I share some of the shorter comments:

• “The course is fantastic: so clearly and well structured. Thank you”

• “We love this course content and the structure of it - will be recommending it to others!”

• “Reallly enjoyed this week. I helped me to understand exactly what I have and what I can do going forward”

• “This course has changed my life!!”

• “This week I learnt, retirement isn't just about accumulating money. I will need it to support the life I want to live, buy trusting my plan, and allowing myself to spend on things that bring value and enjoyment. I'm still learning and sometimes the numbers say you're fine, but your mindset takes a little longer to catch up.”

• “I have been enjoying this course immensely. I feel much more confident in my understanding of how this thing called retirement works!”

• “Overall, a very good course, which I wish I could have done a year ago.”

• “I loved the phrase that doing wills and funeral planning is an “act of care” and will include that in conversations.”

That’s the kind of confidence I want people to have. And it’s why we choose the projects we do at The Epic Retirement Institute.

In fact, we're contemplating a new project for the UK and I’d love your feedback. We’re considering evaluating workplace pensions as you approach retirement, using a set of clear criteria to assess whether the service and investment options on offer are genuinely good enough, or whether it's time to start asking harder questions. We already run something like this in Australia, called the Epic Retirement Tick that is widely respected by both the industry and everyday people.

It's a full assessment of every fund, not just the ones that come out looking good, and the funds that meet a high enough standard on performance, fees and service earn the Epic Retirement Tick, so you can see at a glance which ones are actually worthy of your trust, and which ones need to work harder. It’s done an amazing job of making retirement performance and services more transparent in Australia and putting pressure on funds to lift their game (And they’re responding in ways only public scrutiny can drive). We think it could do the same in the UK where the first time a lot of people really can contemplate deep strategy on their pensions is in the lead up to and in retirement when your workplaces no longer drive it.

We’re not government-funded consumer advocates or anything, just aware that there’s really no one else in the retirement space who doesn’t make money from selling you a financial product or service, and who can have your education about all the choices available to you as the priority. But we only want to run projects that you’d actually use, so we’d love your feedback. Would you use something like this to review your workplace pensions, and consolidate into the ones that earn the Tick?

Appreciate the honest feedback!

Now, back to your Sunday programming! Our Epic Retirement UK Flagship Course is going so well that we’ll be flipping it into an on-demand program you can access when it suits you to do the course as soon as the Summer program completes. You can register your interest for our full release here. We’ll offer a special deal for those who are pre-registered.

I hope you find time out occasionally too.

Bec Xx

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

I am the retirement columnist for The Times, UK. You can read my most recent column here or look through all my columns here.

‘We had to sell our home’ - the reality of retirement without savings

With an estimated 15 million undersaving for later life, many will find they have to make compromises to avoid hardship

Vivian divorced in 1990 and raised her three children with no financial support from their father. She couldn’t afford a private pension, and had almost nothing in workplace savings, despite decades of work, sometimes three jobs at a time just to make ends meet.

She should have retired last year but is working full time on minimum wage to cover her rent and keep her lights on. For her, a comfortable or even modest retirement is a long way from reality. The state pension will be her main source of income.

She is one of the members of my Facebook group, Epic Retirement Club, who shared their experiences this week. In a group full of proactive planners working hard to get ahead and use the systems of retirement to ensure that they will be comfortable, not many were willing to come forward in public and talk about what it feels like to not be on target. But plenty sent in private messages about their plight. It’s tough out there. And many of those who have retired, or who should have retired, are just scraping by.

The conversation came after the latest Retirement Living Standards from the industry body Pensions UK, which set out the estimated incomes needed for comfortable, moderate and minimum lifestyles in retirement - numbers that lay out what it really costs. Last month the government’s Pensions Commission reported that 15 million people in the UK were undersaving for retirement.

The article was published in The Times, on Thursday June 11 and is available for reading here.

Got your copy of How to Have an Epic Retirement - the UK edition yet? Order it now on Amazon here.

Got a topic you’d like me to cover? Send me a message

Simply hit reply and send me a note. I’m keen to know what’s worrying you, what is driving you and what you want more conversation and education about.

Why do I write a separate newsletter for the UK?

I write a separate newsletter specifically for the UK, because the financial system here is completely different to Australia, where I’m based. Your retirement is shaped by the State Pension, workplace pensions, ISAs and HMRC rules. Not superannuation or the Australian Age Pension.

If I just sent you the Australian version with a few words swapped out, it wouldn’t actually be useful to you. And useful is the whole point.

The big conversations, about when to step back from work, what you want the next chapter to look like, how to make your money last, those are universal. But the practical detail needs to reflect the system you’re actually living in. So that’s what we’ve built here. Tell your friends - we want to help you make your retirement epic - the UK way.

Welcome to the UK edition.Thanks for reading Epic Retirement UK! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Feature story: New data out: What does a comfortable retirement cost now?

The Times: ‘We had to sell our home’ — the reality of retirement without savings

From Bec’s Desk: A digital detox and course at Week 3

Are you ready to retire? Depends which kind of ready you mean

Type “am I ready to retire” into Google and you’ll get calculators, checklists, and articles telling you to aim for 70% of your pre-retirement income. All these tools are useful. All are focused on your money.

But that’s not really what you’re asking at 11pm on a Tuesday when you type those words, is it? What you actually want to know is: will I be okay? And that’s an entirely different question.

I’ve spoken with hundreds of people who had their finances completely sorted and still hit retirement like a concrete wall. It wasn’t the money that caught them off guard. It was the regularity of Monday morning. The empty diary and no plans, and no rhythm or social framework to slot into. That plus the odd feeling of invisibility. There’s often a realisation that most of their social life had been running through their work or at the very least, through their work networks, without them ever noticing it.

The first few weeks of retirement can feel like a holiday. Then something shifts, and suddenly “what am I actually doing today?” starts to feel like a question that needs a more valuable answer than just “whatever I want”. You’ve got skills, you’ve got a brain, you’ve got time. But you haven’t worked out how to use them differently, for the social benefits, the lifestyle moments and the pure joy of it.

This is something we call the adjustment phase. Be alert to it, even prepared for it. It’s completely normal. But most people have never heard of it and don’t talk about the tough bits, so most aren’t ready for it.

So how do you really actually know if you’re ready?

It’s not about whether you feel excited for or nervous about retirement. Most people feel both. It’s about whether you’ve thought through the things that work has been taking care of for you - the social networks, the adrenalin rushes of achievement and the feeling of having purpose.

Sit with these before you hand in your notice and think about them:

Where does your sense of self come from right now? If the honest answer is mostly your job title, worth knowing that before you walk out the door.

Who will you actually spend time with in retirement? And I don’t mean on holidays. I mean on an ordinary Wednesday. Work friends are great until they’re not your colleagues anymore. And people you do deals with might not need to take you to lunch when there’s no deals to be done.

What’s going to get you out of bed? I don’t mean a vague plan to read more or potter in the garden. Think up something specific, with enough pull to give your week some shape.

Then contemplate - if you are you running toward something, or away from something? Retiring to escape a bad job or a shitty boss is very different from retiring toward a life you’ve designed, thought through and have a vision of. The people who land well usually have the second picture sorted.

And have you actually tested any of this? Take a longer break. Spend a week without work structure. Take your long service leave - if you dare. See how it feels in real life, not just in your head.

And then remember, you don’t need to have it all figured out. Nobody does. Retirement isn’t a moment you either nail or don’t. It’s a transition, and transitions take time to find their shape. But going in knowing that the emotional side is just as real as the financial side puts you in a much stronger position than most people who only run the numbers to check if they are ready.

So yes, check your pensions, do the sums, make sure the money works. Then ask yourself the harder questions too. Because those are the ones that will really tell you whether you’re ready.

This week we held our first Live Q&A for the Epic Retirement UK Flagship Course. Neil Jones, Wealth Manager and Tax Specialist from Standard Life joined me online to answer the questions of everyone doing the course. It was a lively and very fulfilling online event - and a really helpful format. And boy oh boy did our class keep him busy.

Our UK course is going great guns. The feedback at the beginning of Week 3 is really positive. People are feeling like it’s teaching them what they need to know - the stuff that no-one really tells them about the choices they have and the opportunities that are in front of them. It’s a six week program. So there’s still a way to go.

If you’d like to join the course a little late, there’s still two live events during the program as well as six weeks of lessons to work through, that drop for watching in your own time, organised into six weeks of content. Just book your place and jump straight in. You haven’t missed anything you can’t catch up on with around 3 hours of on-demand online course-watching, and last week’s live event was recorded for replay. Here’s the brochure if you want to learn more about it. And book your place and get started here.

Learn more: Download the brochure

This week, hot on the heels of the new Pensions UK benchmarks being released, I did a column for The Times about how people who can’t afford a comfortable retirement make ends meet. I asked our Epic Retirement Club for their inputs and tell the real stories in this one - some will break your heart. Thanks to everyone who was brave enough to talk about what they do when money doesn’t go as far as the retirement dream.

It’s been a busy week, so this weekend I’m taking a digital detox. Unusual for me. You’ll see everything is scheduled to happen just like it should - the reels, the podcasts, the newsletters and the newspapers. I will just be letting life happen, with a cup of tea, a good book and some board games in the weirdly and unseasonably rainy Queensland weather.

I hope you find time out occasionally too.

Bec Xx

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

I am the retirement columnist for The Times, UK. You can read my most recent column here or look through all my columns here.

‘We had to sell our home’ - the reality of retirement without savings

With an estimated 15 million undersaving for later life, many will find they have to make compromises to avoid hardship

Vivian divorced in 1990 and raised her three children with no financial support from their father. She couldn’t afford a private pension, and had almost nothing in workplace savings, despite decades of work, sometimes three jobs at a time just to make ends meet.

She should have retired last year but is working full time on minimum wage to cover her rent and keep her lights on. For her, a comfortable or even modest retirement is a long way from reality. The state pension will be her main source of income.

She is one of the members of my Facebook group, Epic Retirement Club, who shared their experiences this week. In a group full of proactive planners working hard to get ahead and use the systems of retirement to ensure that they will be comfortable, not many were willing to come forward in public and talk about what it feels like to not be on target. But plenty sent in private messages about their plight. It’s tough out there. And many of those who have retired, or who should have retired, are just scraping by.

The conversation came after the latest Retirement Living Standards from the industry body Pensions UK, which set out the estimated incomes needed for comfortable, moderate and minimum lifestyles in retirement - numbers that lay out what it really costs. Last month the government’s Pensions Commission reported that 15 million people in the UK were undersaving for retirement.

The article was published in The Times, on Thursday June 11 and is available for reading here.

Got your copy of How to Have an Epic Retirement - the UK edition yet? Order it now on Amazon here.

Why do I write a separate newsletter for the UK?

I write a separate newsletter specifically for the UK, because the financial system here is completely different to Australia, where I’m based. Your retirement is shaped by the State Pension, workplace pensions, ISAs and HMRC rules. Not superannuation or the Australian Age Pension.

If I just sent you the Australian version with a few words swapped out, it wouldn’t actually be useful to you. And useful is the whole point.

The big conversations, about when to step back from work, what you want the next chapter to look like, how to make your money last, those are universal. But the practical detail needs to reflect the system you’re actually living in. So that’s what we’ve built here. Tell your friends - we want to help you make your retirement epic - the UK way.

Welcome to the UK edition.Thanks for reading Epic Retirement UK! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Feature story: New data out: What does a comfortable retirement cost now?

The Times: Your pension is primed to let you down at the worst possible time

From Bec’s Desk: Winter down under - UK course in Week 2

New data out: What does a comfortable retirement cost now?

Pensions UK just released its annual Retirement Living Standards and for the first time in a few years, the picture is a little more nuanced than “everything went up again.”

Phew - I hear a few of you thinking out loud.

The Standards describe three retirement lifestyles: Minimum, Moderate, and Comfortable. Each one is built from detailed research into what people actually spend in the uk on life and living it - food, transport, holidays, energy bills, eating out. They’re updated every year, and the 2026 figures have just landed this week.

Here’s where things stand, and how they’ve moved:

Pensions UK Retirement Living Standards 2026

Note: these are after-tax spending figures. The gross income you’ll need to generate them will be higher, depending on your tax position.

The comfortable standard for a single person has risen by £1,500 in a year. For a couple, it’s now £62,700, up from £60,600. The increases at the moderate and comfortable levels are being driven by inflation across various spending categories, including things like rail fares, which rose sharply enough that the annual rail budget in the research jumped from £100 to £180 per person.

The minimum crept up only modestly - £500 for a single person - because it's a stripped-back budget with limited discretionary spending. The bigger jumps are at moderate and comfortable, where the things people actually want in retirement - travel, eating out, leisure, and lifestyle have all kept getting more expensive.

We need to think about these standards alongside the State Pension

The full State Pension is currently £12,548 a year. For a single person, that almost covers the Minimum standard (£13,900) - there’s a gap of about £1,350 to find from elsewhere.

But the real story is in the middle tiers. A moderate retirement for one person costs £32,700. That means you need roughly £20,000 a year on top of the State Pension. A comfortable retirement requires over £32,000 a year on top.

That’s not pocket money. For a single person targeting comfortable, using the standard 4% drawdown rule, you’re looking at a pension pot in the region of £800,000 - on top of whatever State Pension you receive.

For couples the numbers are more forgiving. Two State Pensions combined come to around £25,000 — which covers the Minimum comfortably and gets you halfway to Moderate. But a comfortable retirement for two still needs nearly £38,000 a year from savings and pensions.

What this means for most people, practically

Three things are worth taking from these numbers.

First, the comfortable standard isn’t THAT extravagant. It includes long-haul travel once in a while, a car, home improvements, and being able to help family occasionally. It’s a normal, full life - not a luxury one. The fact it now requires £45,400 for a single person is a reflection of what ordinary things cost, not high standards of living.

Second, the gap between where most people will land and where they want to be is often larger than they expect. The State Pension is a solid foundation, but it was never designed to do the whole job.

Third, these figures assume you own your home outright. Mortgage payments or rent are not included. If you’re still carrying housing costs into retirement, your real number is higher.

None of this is meant to alarm you! It’s meant to ground you. The point of these benchmarks is to give you something real to plan against, rather than you just sitting with a vague aspiration to have a good retirement. Pick the lifestyle that feels right for you, work out your gap, and start there.

Or even better - write your own budget. That’s really the best way to do retirement planning.

Winter arrived this week down under where I live. Not a British winter by any standard though. It was chilly ( mild 12 degrees in the mornings), windy and sunny… delightful. It’s the sort of weather that makes you want to walk outdoors and feel the sun on your face. And so I have, every - single - day. With no travel for a few weeks, I’m delighting in getting through the workload on my desk, rebuilding my website, supporting the courses currently underway in the UK and Australia; and preparing for the launch of the next programs.

I’ve also signed my next book deal - a fun project to get started on. And this time I’ve gone with Penguin Random House as the publisher - a big change for me. When I wrote my first retirement book only one publisher was curious - all the others said there’s no market for this stuff. ☺️ Three years later I had a few wanting a piece! Must be doing something right. I’ll tell you more about the 2 book deal I’ve signed on for once the books take shape.

Our Epic Retirement Courses are going great guns. In the UK, we host our first live Q&A - cant wait to get up at 3am for that to see everyone. Our first students are keenly working through the course, that is now up to week 2. And the feedback is superb!

“I love the videos and the reflective activities. The layering concept was a really good way to describe funding a retirement.”

“The presentation of even the tough topics is very good, and the format is fantastic. Now that I'm into the course, I just want to keep going. And thank you for acknowledging anxiety levels may rise at times!”

“The course flows at the right pace (for me anyway). Building up some foundational concepts, before diving into more detail with practical examples and comparison points. The reassurance regarding "pot size" vs the lifestyle you want/need is helpful as people (myself included) can be more fixated on a number rather than working backwards”

“This is a brilliant course that everyone should do”

It’s a six week program, and there’s three live events during the program too. There’s still time to join the course. Just book your place and jump straight in. You haven’t missed anything you can’t catch up on with 2-3 hours of on-demand online course-watching, especially if you get in before this week’s live event. Here’s the brochure if you want to learn more about it. And book your place and get started here.

Learn more: Download the brochure

Lastly,I was thrilled to see my column for The Times showed up in the newspaper last Sunday in style. A full half-page! If you haven’t looked at how your workplace pension is performing, I hope I’m inspiring you to, and giving you some useful benchmarks to help you consider whether it’s performing well, or underdelivering. This is important stuff in the years running up to retirement.

Have a read if you haven’t already. And do something about it. This is your retirement - you’ll never regret taking responsibility for making it epic.

Now get out there and make your Sunday epic too.

Bec Xx

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

Why do I write a separate newsletter for the UK?

I write a separate newsletter specifically for the UK, because the financial system here is completely different to Australia, where I’m based. Your retirement is shaped by the State Pension, workplace pensions, ISAs and HMRC rules. Not superannuation or the Australian Age Pension.

If I just sent you the Australian version with a few words swapped out, it wouldn’t actually be useful to you. And useful is the whole point.

The big conversations, about when to step back from work, what you want the next chapter to look like, how to make your money last, those are universal. But the practical detail needs to reflect the system you’re actually living in. So that’s what we’ve built here. Tell your friends - we want to help you make your retirement epic - the UK way.

Welcome to the UK edition.

I am the retirement columnist for The Times, UK. You can read my most recent column here.

Your pension is primed to let you down at the worst possible time

If you are approaching retirement you probably have a pension you have forgotten about, or maybe two. Possibly even three. Each one in a different workplace scheme, chosen by a former employer through a negotiation you were never part of, invested in a default fund you have never looked at, earning returns you have never compared with anything.

The system was clearly not designed to help you find out about, or monitor performance. If it had been there is no way the dreadful figures on pension performance in the five years to retirement would have been allowed to stand.

The analyst CAPAdata tracks the performance of UK workplace pension default funds and its figures show what has been happening to workers’ pension returns in the five critical years before they reach state pension age, known as pre-retirement. This is when the stakes are highest and there is little time to recover from a bad decision.

A pension pot at retirement still needs to last another 20 to 30 years, though, which means growth still matters enormously. I have spent years writing about retirement planning, and these numbers are worse than I expected for a period when global markets were delivering some of their strongest returns in decades. They should alarm anyone who has a pension in this country.

The best performing pre-retirement fund in the data set over the five years to March 2026 was the SEI Flexi Default, growing at a compound annual rate of 9.5 per cent - impressive. The worst was Scottish Widows, at a miserable 3.3 per cent a year, a rate that did not even keep pace with inflation.

The article was published in The Times, and is available for reading here.

Got your copy of How to Have an Epic Retirement - the UK edition yet? Buy now on Amazon

Feature story: Are you one of the 15 million people?

The Times: Your pension is primed to let you down at the worst possible time

From Bec’s Desk: Our course is up and away

Are you one of the 15 million people?

Last week, the UK government’s newly reconvened Pensions Commission dropped a report that deserves more attention than it’s getting. The headline finding: 15 million people in the UK are currently undersaving for retirement. Without action, that figure could rise to 19 million.

That’s not a small problem. That’s roughly half the working-age population.

The Commission was clear about who’s most at risk: low and middle earners, the self-employed, and women. But here’s the thing - many of the people reading this newsletter would tell you they’re “doing okay” with their retirement savings. And some of you will be right. But some of you won’t.

So let’s do a quick, honest check.

Step 1: Do you know your State Pension forecast?

The full State Pension is currently £12,548 a year. It’s inflation-linked and guaranteed for life, which makes it genuinely valuable, but it won’t get you very far on its own.

To get the full amount, you need 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions. Fewer years means a reduced payment. If you haven’t already, check your forecast at gov.uk/check-state-pension. It takes about two minutes and it’s worth knowing exactly where you stand.

Also check for gaps in your NI record worth filling. Voluntary contributions currently cost around £17.75 a week per missing year, and each extra year could add around £330 a year to your State Pension for life. For many people, that’s a very good deal.

Step 2: Do you know what income you actually need?

Before you can work out if you’re on track, you need a target.

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association publishes the Retirement Living Standards - a practical guide to what different lifestyles actually cost in retirement. Here’s where things currently stand (these assume you own your home outright):

• Comfortable — £43,900 a year for a single person, £60,600 for a couple

• Moderate — £31,700 for a single person, £43,900 for a couple

• Minimum — £13,400 for a single person, £21,600 for a couple

Subtract the State Pension and you can see the gap you need to fund from your own pensions and savings. For someone aiming at a comfortable single retirement, that gap is around £31,350 a year on top of the State Pension. For a couple aiming at comfortable, it’s around £35,500 on top of their combined State Pension of £25,096.

Those are significant numbers. And they’re exactly why the Commission is sounding the alarm.

Step 3: Are you actually on track - or just enrolled?

Here’s where a lot of people get caught out.

Auto-enrolment has been a genuine success - it’s brought millions of people into workplace pensions who would never have saved otherwise. But being enrolled is not the same as being on track.

The law requires a minimum total contribution of 8% of your qualifying earnings: 3% from your employer and 5% from you (including tax relief). That’s the floor, and for most people, it’s not enough to retire comfortably, especially if you started late or have gaps in your working history. Most people need closer to 10-12%.

If you’ve been contributing at the minimum for most of your career, do a quick sense check: log into your pension portal, look at your current pot size, and ask yourself honestly whether what you’ve built - combined with your State Pension - would fund the lifestyle you want for 20 or 30 years.

If the numbers feel uncomfortable, that’s useful information. It means there’s still time to do some work and adjust your vision and plans. And consider adjusting your pension contributions.

And be sure to read my article in The Times about pension investment returns in the run up to retirement. You might find your workplace pension is massively underperforming inflation and you could be effectively going backwards. Take a look!

Three things worth doing this week

1. Check your State Pension forecast at gov.uk/check-state-pension and look for any gaps in your NI record worth filling.

2. Log into your workplace pension and find your current pot value and contribution rate. Most providers let you do this online in a few minutes.

3. Pick a lifestyle benchmark from the PLSA standards above and work out how much you’d need in total savings to fund the income gap. A simple starting point: divide your required annual top-up by 4% to get a rough savings target.

None of this requires a financial adviser to get started. It just requires a bit of honest attention.

And if you want help working through all of this properly - understanding your pensions, building an income plan, and getting real clarity on where you stand - we’ve just launched our Epic Retirement course for UK readers. You can find out more and join us at epicretirement.net/program/pilot. It only started on Thursday so you still have time to catch up.

The Pensions Commission will publish its final recommendations in 2027. The system may well change by then. But none of that helps you if you’re sitting on the sidelines waiting to see what happens.

The only thing that matters right now is whether you are on track. Not the average person. Not the 15 million. You.

Go find out.

I’ve been head-down working on our UK Epic Course for months. And it’s finally here.

Our UK Epic Retirement Course kicked off beautifully on Thursday. Excited pre-retirees all jumped into the platform and started on Week 1’s lessons. It’s a six week program, and there’s three live events during the program too, after we get into the harder financial stuff and the ‘finding your purpose’. There’s still time to join the course. Just book your place and jump straight in.

Learn more: Download the brochure

I also got a hold of the pre-retirement performance data for workplace funds in the UK and was frankly quite horrified. So I wrote a long, detailed and constructive article for The Times. Make sure you’re looking if you’re in the run up to retirement. Some of the biggest funds are lower than inflation.

Aside from that, I’ve been in Sydney, making podcasts and attending our pensions-industry awards. And I’m looking forward to a quiet weekend. I hope you’re enjoying the run into Summer!

Now get out there and make your Sunday epic.

Bec Xx

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

Why do I write a separate newsletter for the UK?

I write a separate newsletter specifically for the UK, because the financial system here is completely different to Australia, where I’m based. Your retirement is shaped by the State Pension, workplace pensions, ISAs and HMRC rules. Not superannuation or the Australian Age Pension.

If I just sent you the Australian version with a few words swapped out, it wouldn’t actually be useful to you. And useful is the whole point.

The big conversations, about when to step back from work, what you want the next chapter to look like, how to make your money last, those are universal. But the practical detail needs to reflect the system you’re actually living in. So that’s what we’ve built here. Tell your friends - we want to help you make your retirement epic - the UK way.

Welcome to the UK edition.

I am the retirement columnist for The Times, UK. You can read my most recent column here.

Your pension is primed to let you down at the worst possible time

If you are approaching retirement you probably have a pension you have forgotten about, or maybe two. Possibly even three. Each one in a different workplace scheme, chosen by a former employer through a negotiation you were never part of, invested in a default fund you have never looked at, earning returns you have never compared with anything.

The system was clearly not designed to help you find out about, or monitor performance. If it had been there is no way the dreadful figures on pension performance in the five years to retirement would have been allowed to stand.

The analyst CAPAdata tracks the performance of UK workplace pension default funds and its figures show what has been happening to workers’ pension returns in the five critical years before they reach state pension age, known as pre-retirement. This is when the stakes are highest and there is little time to recover from a bad decision.

A pension pot at retirement still needs to last another 20 to 30 years, though, which means growth still matters enormously. I have spent years writing about retirement planning, and these numbers are worse than I expected for a period when global markets were delivering some of their strongest returns in decades. They should alarm anyone who has a pension in this country.

The best performing pre-retirement fund in the data set over the five years to March 2026 was the SEI Flexi Default, growing at a compound annual rate of 9.5 per cent — impressive. The worst was Scottish Widows, at a miserable 3.3 per cent a year, a rate that did not even keep pace with inflation.

The article was published in The Times, and is available for reading here.

The countdown is on: The UK Epic Retirement Course begins on Thursday.

If you’re in the UK and you’ve been waiting for a proper retirement course built specifically for the British pension system, this is it. It kicks off on 28th May.

We’ve built a six-week online program to give you the clarity, confidence and practical know-how to plan your retirement properly. Not generic advice. Not Australian super rules with a Union Jack slapped on top. A program built from the ground up for the UK, covering the State Pension, workplace pensions, ISAs and everything in between.

Here’s what’s included:

• 14 modules and around 100 lessons, all built for the UK system

• Exercises and activities throughout so you’re actually doing the work, not just watching videos

• A community of people going through it alongside you

• Three live Q&As with some of the UK’s leading retirement experts

• A conversation starter workbook to help you and your partner actually talk about what you want

• A copy of the UK edition of How to Have an Epic Retirement as your companion guide

The course is hosted by me and UK actuary and retirement coach Charlotte Gibson, so you’re getting practical expertise from both sides of the equation.

This isn’t a webinar. It’s a proper six-week program, done together, and pilot pricing means it’s the cheapest it will ever be. Book your place at the link in bio.

Book your spot here before it’s too late - or download the brochure to learn more here. (And if you’re an employer, employee benefits consultancy or belong to a pension fund and would like to send some of your staff - reach out to us at bec@epicretirement.uk)

Not quite retiring - it’s a thing

A friend of mine handed in his notice this week, three months until what he’s calling his “second retirement.” He turns 60 next year, and when he talks about it, he’s genuinely convinced this is it.

So I got him talking. And for the first ten minutes, it was all about time. How he has none of it right now. How he’s craving it in a way that feels almost physical. How he came back to the workforce after retirement number one feeling ready, energised even, and how somewhere in the past year that feeling quietly drained away and left him with a diary full of other people’s priorities and almost none of his own.

But then something shifted. As the conversation went on and I kept asking questions, his tone changed. Because when I asked him what he might actually do next, he didn’t dismiss work entirely. He paused. He knows his knowledge is valuable. He likes being useful, genuinely likes it, and he’s self-aware enough to know that the feeling of usefulness doesn’t automatically follow you into retirement just because you want it to. He’s watched it disappear once before, and he hasn’t forgotten what that felt like.

So what he actually wants isn’t quite retirement. It’s time. Space in his life. Room to think, to breathe, to decide what the next chapter looks like without the current one consuming every available hour. The problem is that in the role he’s in right now, there is no version of that on offer. So the only move he can see is to leave completely and create the vacancy himself.

I thought that was one of the more honest things I’d heard someone say about this stage of life in a while. Because I think a lot of people in their late 50s are carrying exactly that tension, not wanting to stop contributing, but not willing to keep going the way they have been. Wanting the usefulness without the exhaustion. Wanting to feel like their experience still matters, just in a different configuration, on their own terms, with some of their own time back.

It’s harder to navigate than a clean retirement, because there’s no obvious template for it. But if you’re sitting somewhere in that territory, here are the questions worth actually working through.

Is it the work itself, or the terms you’re doing it on?

This one matters more than most people realise, because the answer changes everything. A lot of people who think they want to stop working actually want to stop doing so very much of it, under these conditions, with this much pressure and this little control over their own time. That’s a different problem with different solutions. The question is whether those solutions are available to you where you are right now, or whether, like my friend, the only realistic path to the life you want runs through leaving first.

What would you actually do with the time, specifically?

Most people haven’t thought this through beyond a vague sense of relief, and the first few months of stepping back tend to feel wonderful regardless. After that, a lot of people find the days harder to fill than they expected, particularly if work has been the main source of structure, identity, and connection for the last few decades. It’s worth asking yourself honestly what a genuinely good week looks like when you’re not working full-time, and whether you have enough of the right things already in your life to fill that space well.

What would usefulness look like, redesigned?

This is really the question underneath everything else. If you know, like my friend does, that pure retirement didn’t fully work last time, then the goal isn’t to stop contributing. It’s to find a version of contributing that doesn’t cost you everything else. Consulting, a board position, mentoring, building something smaller on your own terms. These are real options worth thinking through properly, not filing away as vague possibilities to sort out later.

Have you actually modelled what stepping back costs you financially?

Not in the general sense of whether you have enough saved, but properly stress-tested. What does reducing your income cost you per year, and what does that do to your long-term position? A lot of people are more financially ready to make a move than they think, and some are less ready than they assume. Getting proper advice from someone who understands this phase of life is worth doing before anything is decided.

And have you had the real conversation with your partner?

Not just about the money, but about what the day-to-day actually looks like when one or both of you is renegotiating how you spend your time and maybe the other one is already retired. Talk about what you each need from the next chapter, and what it means for how you live together day to day. It’s one of those conversations that’s easy to keep putting off and genuinely important to have before anything is locked in.

My friend might be doing exactly the right thing. Sometimes the only way to get your time back is to clear the diary completely and start again. But the vacancy only works if you go into it with some sense of what you’re hoping will show up.

I’ve been out bushwalking this weekend, enjoying one of few sunny days this week. Your weather is looking considerably better than ours right now. It’s been raining all week in Brisbane, and I keep seeing my British friends popping up on social media in their summer gear, looking tanned and delighted with themselves. I’ll admit I’m a little envious as the winter chill creeps in here.

I’m booking my next trip to the UK for October. I’ll miss the beautiful midyear months, but I’m excited nonetheless, because it’s time to start doing some proper Epic Retirement events over there. If you’d like to help us set something up in your town while I’m visiting, please do reach out. I’d love to meet as many of you in person as possible.

And this week is a big one. We’re kicking off the very first Epic Retirement UK Flagship Course pilot program, and I can’t quite believe we’re finally here. It’s the beginning of something we’ve been building towards for a while, and I couldn’t be more excited to share it with our UK community and readers. It’s a six week course - and it’s become really popular in Australia. This is just the beginning in the UK, and I’m thrilled to see a good crew have signed up and are eager to begin.

More on that at the top of the email. You can download a copy of the brochure to learn more. And be sure to get your booking in ASAP if you want to be on board for it. The course drops into our learning portal on Thursday!

Learn more: Download the brochure

Now get out there and make your Sunday epic.

Bec Xx

P.S. To celebrate the launch of the UK Course, we’re also giving away 5 free seats in the program. To go into the draw, simply give our Epic Retirement UK Facebook page a like and comment and follow along in the newsletter to see if you win.

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

Why do I write a separate newsletter for the UK?

I write a separate newsletter specifically for the UK, because the financial system here is completely different to Australia, where I’m based. Your retirement is shaped by the State Pension, workplace pensions, ISAs and HMRC rules. Not superannuation or the Australian Age Pension.

If I just sent you the Australian version with a few words swapped out, it wouldn’t actually be useful to you. And useful is the whole point.

The big conversations, about when to step back from work, what you want the next chapter to look like, how to make your money last, those are universal. But the practical detail needs to reflect the system you’re actually living in. So that’s what we’ve built here. Tell your friends - we want to help you make your retirement epic - the UK way.

Welcome to the UK edition.

I am the retirement columnist for The Times, UK. You can read my most recent column here. And there’s a new column about to drop any day - keep your eye out.

Book your place on the Epic Retirement UK Flagship Course

The How to Have an Epic Retirement 6-week Flagship Course is the only course available that’s independent, comprehensive and tells you the truth about all your retirement choices. More on the program at the bottom of the email. Or simply download a brochure here.

AND we’re giving away 5 seats on the course, to our UK social community. All you have to do is follow our Epic Retirement UK Facebook page here and comment on our posts. We’ll be in touch via your social media inbox.

The retirement conversations couples often avoid

One of the most interesting things I’ve noticed about retirement planning is this: In many couples, one person is usually more ready to think about retirement than the other.

One person is curious. Planning ahead. Wondering what the next stage of life might look like.

The other is often still deeply focused on work… or quietly hoping retirement will somehow just “sort itself out” later.

While this is incredibly normal, it can also create tension if couples never properly talk about what they each want from the years ahead.

Because retirement isn’t just a financial transition, it’s a relationship transition too.

Suddenly you may be spending more time together than you have in decades. On top of that, your routines change. Your independence changes. Your priorities can shift. And sometimes, couples discover they’ve been imagining very different versions of retirement altogether.

For example, you might dream of travel and adventure, and your partner might want stability at home. Or perhaps you have decided it’s time to slow down and give up work for good, but your partner might want to start volunteer, study, or work part-time.

And neither person is wrong. But these conversations matter more than people realise.

I often say that one of the greatest gifts couples can give each other before retirement is not a perfect financial plan. It’s clarity.

Clarity about:

• what matters most

• how you want to spend your time

• how much freedom you each need

• where you want to live

• what role family plays

• what a meaningful life actually looks like for both of you

One small exercise I encourage couples to try is this:

Ask each other:

“What does a really great week look like for you in retirement?”

Not the fantasy version. The ordinary version.

Where are you waking up?

How are you spending your days?

What would make you feel energised, connected, fulfilled and balanced?

You might be surprised by how different - or how similar - your answers are.

And that’s exactly why these conversations are so valuable. It will help you build be on the same page and approach retirement as a team.

Join us for our very first UK course

After helping thousands of Australians through the How to Have an Epic Retirement program over the past two years, we’re now bringing the course to the UK for the very first time.

It’s hosted by me, Bec Wilson and UK Actuary and Retirement Coach, Charlotte Gibson - so you’ll get some really useful learnings from both of us plus there’s three live Q&As over the program, with guests include: Dan Haylett, Financial Adviser and Author and Neil Jones, Retirement Expert from Standard Life.

This isn’t a webinar. It’s a proper program, done together, over six weeks and it starts on the 28th May. The course is designed to give you the confidence and practical know-how to plan your retirement properly. It’s not generic advice. It’s a program built from the ground up for the UK – the State Pension, workplace pensions, ISAs, finding purpose, happiness, looking after your health, traveling in retirement, building plans, goals and so much more.

Plus, the pilot pricing is the cheapest it will ever be - and you can share the one ticket with your partner (in fact, we encourage couples to do it together). It’s designed to help people start talking about retirement differently, not just through the lens of money, but through lifestyle, relationships, purpose, health and the future you’re building together.

Included in the program:

• 6 weeks/ 100 video lessons organised in 14 modules

• Exercises in every module, making it easy to digest

• A Conversation Starter workbook to accompany your learning

• A copy of How to Have an Epic Retirement - UK - ebook edition

• 3 Live Q&As with some of the UK’s best retirement experts.

Learn more: Download the brochure

Or if you’re ready, you can book your spot here before registrations close.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out with your questions to ​bec@epicretirement.net

Cheers - let’s make it epic!

P.S. Don’t forget - to celebrate the launch of the UK Course, we’re also giving away 5 free seats in the program. To go into the draw, simply give our Epic Retirement UK Facebook page a like and follow along.

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

The UK Epic Retirement Course is here

If you’re in the UK and you’ve been waiting for something built specifically for the British pension system – this is it. Our Epic Retirement UK 6-Week Flagship Course kicks off on 28th May.

I’ve worked with Charlotte Gibson, UK Retirement Coach and Actuary, bringing the Epic Retirement framework and our knowledge together.

We’ve built a six-week online course designed to give you the confidence and practical know-how to plan your retirement properly. It’s not generic advice. It’s a program built from the ground up for the UK – the State Pension, workplace pensions, ISAs, finding purpose, happiness, looking after your health, traveling in retirement, building plans, goals and so much more.

Here’s what’s included:

• 14 modules and around 100 lessons, all built for the UK system.

• Exercises and activities in every module so you’re actually doing the work, not just watching videos.

• A community of people going through it alongside you, so you can share, question and connect on every lesson.

• Three live Q&As with some of the UK’s leading retirement experts.

• A conversation starter workbook to help you and your partner — or your family — actually talk about what you want.

• And a copy of How to Have an Epic Retirement (UK edition) as your companion textbook.

This isn’t a webinar. It’s a proper program, done together, over six weeks and it starts in less than two weeks, on the 28th May - so book your place. The pilot pricing is the cheapest it will ever be. We can’t wait to share this program with you. It’s hosted by me, Bec Wilson and UK Actuary and Retirement Coach, Charlotte Gibson - so you’ll get some really useful learnings from both of us plus there’s three live Q&As over the program, with guests include: Dan Haylett, Financial Adviser and Author and Neil Jones, Retirement Expert from Standard Life.

Book your spot here before we close the doors.

Or download the brochure to learn more here.

(and if you’re an employer, employee benefits consultancy or belong to a pension fund and would like to send some of your staff - reach out to us at bec@epicretirement.uk)

Retirement’s hidden challenge: identity and purpose

We spend years stressing over our pension balances, trying to pick the perfect retirement age, and wondering if we’ve saved enough. But what if that’s not the only thing keeping most of us up at night?

Because for many of us, the real fear isn’t about money. It’s about what happens after we stop working.

It’s the fear of losing purpose. Losing that feeling of being useful or connected. We’re scared of drifting through 25 or 30 years without the rhythm and identity that work gives us. Once upon a time, retirement was the prize at the end of the grind - freedom from the job that wore down your body and stole your weekends. But work has changed. These days, it can be a source of social connection, meaning, and – dare I say it – even enjoyment.

So, when we step away from it, the real question becomes: what now?

In the Epic Retirement Club Facebook group, a community member, Patrick recently shared something that got a lot of people clicking emojis and commenting. He wrote:

“One of the hardest things to believe about retirement is that the biggest challenge isn’t money, it’s identity. For years, our jobs gave us titles, routines, and even purpose. Then one day, the title disappears, the calendar clears, and you’re left facing the question: Who am I without the work? Almost everyone feels this before retirement, but not everyone talks about it. The truth is, building a meaningful retired life takes the same effort and planning as building wealth. And once you figure that out, retirement becomes less about what you left behind and more about what you’re finally free to create.”

Patrick has put into words something that many people feel but rarely express in public: that work is about much more than income. It’s structure and scaffolding. It holds our lives together - giving us routine, identity, and the sense that we matter. When that scaffolding comes down, you have to ask: what will stand in its place? And, if you don’t plan for the structure’s replacement - everything could get shaky.

Why is identity so important?

Money really dominates the headlines around retirement planning: how much you’ll need, how to invest it, when you can afford to stop working - they’re all things you do to prepare yourself for retirement. But Patrick is right - the harder, quieter work is identity.

If we don’t prepare for that shift, retirement can feel like a big loss rather than a newfound sense of freedom. If we do, it becomes a once-in-a-lifetime chance to reinvent ourselves.

How do you start your reinvention?

Building a post-work identity isn’t done as a single leap; it’s a gradual construction project. Frankly, I believe the people who thrive in retirement usually do four things (at least):

• Experiment before the date arrives. They try taking time away from work and finding purpose, testing out volunteering, mentoring, creative projects, pursuits or part-time ventures while still working.

• Separate their identity from their title. Instead of saying “I was an engineer,” or “I was a teacher,” they start saying “I’m a problem-solver” or “I love making things work.” It’s about holding onto values and skills and a sense of identity in these, not just the job badge. And then finding new ways to use those talents in the world.

• Invest in pursuits, not just hobbies. Most people don’t understand the difference. But it’s important. A pursuit is something you continue to invest in growing your skills in. A hobby is just something you do to occupy yourself. Patrick’s thoughts are spot on here - building a life of pursuits means seeking personal growth, mastery of some skills, contribution, and purpose.

• Seek proactively. They go looking for things that interest them, stay curious about what’s changing in themselves and in the people around them, and try new things.

When you understand that identity is the central challenge, and central opportunity of retirement, money takes its proper place. It’s the tool that enables you to go looking for what’s next for you, not the purpose itself.

Like Patrick said so well, once you figure this out, retirement stops being about what you left behind. It becomes about what you’re finally free to create.

And that, more than anything, is the real work of retiring well - in my opinion. What do you think?

If this resonates with you, you are going to love what we have in store in our upcoming Epic Retirement UK Course.

The course has already helped thousands of Australians build greater retirement confidence, and this is the very first time we’re bringing a version built specifically for the UK retirement system to life.

It’s a six-week online course combining practical retirement education, guided reflection exercises, community conversations and three live Q&A sessions with retirement experts.

Because this is our founding UK cohort, we’re intentionally keeping it small, and launching with a lower-than-ever-priced pilot. And best of all, you have the opportunity to share your feedback which will help shape the course for future participants.

You can download a copy of the brochure to learn more.

Learn more: Download the brochure

More soon,

Bec Xx

P.S. To celebrate the launch of the UK Course, we’re also giving away 5 free seats in the program. To go into the draw, simply give our Epic Retirement UK Facebook page a like and comment and follow along in the newsletter to see if you win.

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

I am the retirement columnist for The Times, UK. You can read my most recent column here. And I’ve linked some other recent columns below.

We’ve been married for 30 years but can’t agree on when to retire’

Couples who have spent decades building a financial life together often forget to plan what happens when they stop work, says our retirement expert

Read more here

The real risk from AI isn’t losing your job — it’s wrecking your retirement

A drop in income at 30 is inconvenient but at 50 it can be a disaster. We all need to wake up to the risks

Read more here

What I’ve heard should alarm every politician in the country

In an open letter to the government, Times Money’s retirement columnist sets out why people aren’t saving like they should

Read more here

The six biggest retirement fears — and how to solve them

Prepare for all the things that feel scary about giving up work, from running out of money to finding a way to fill up your time

Read more here

But at some point, you want to know how you get there. And that requires a vision, so you can work on the numbers and start to plot your path.

Making that move from drifting to deliberate planning is one of the most important steps you can take in the lead-up to retirement. And once you’ve made it, here are some ways to get the most out of the planning phase.

1. Start with writing out your vision

It’s hard to plan for something you haven’t got a mental picture of. What does an epic retirement look like in your head? Is it adventure and travel? A slower, local rhythm? A portfolio of projects and pursuits with an annual holiday thrown in? Once you have that picture, you can start asking the real questions: How much do you need? When could you comfortably cut back work? What would life actually cost, week to week? Having a vision, even a sketchy one, gives your planning a direction to work toward.

2. Put shape around your spending

Rather than telling yourself “we’ll probably need less when we stop work,” get specific. Track what you’re spending now and sketch out what will actually change over the coming years. Kids finally leaving home? Mortgage nearly done? More travel in the mix? Less need for work clothes and transport? Downsizing? Yes, that means building a budget. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it will give you a clearer picture of whether you’re in good shape already, or whether there are gaps to fill.

3. Test out some different income scenarios

This is where your pensions, ISAs and investments stop being abstract numbers and start to feel real. Start testing what retirement could actually look like - financially. Run through a few “what ifs.” If you drew £40,000 or £60,000 a year, how long would your savings last? What happens if markets fall in the first few years? What changes if you work part-time for longer, downsize later on, or delay accessing certain pensions? Far from being frightening, playing with different scenarios in private can actually feel empowering. It helps you understand the levers you can pull, and reminds you that retirement is often more flexible than people first assume.

4. Use the “excess years” in your Prime Time wisely

For many people, there’s a window in midlife where cash flow suddenly starts to improve - the children become more independent, the mortgage is shrinking, and peak earning years are often still ahead of you. It’s tempting to let lifestyle creep take over with bigger holidays, home upgrades or expensive treats. But if you instead treat these years as your retirement setup phase - boosting pension contributions, building ISA investments, reducing debt or creating a healthy cash buffer - you can give yourself far more flexibility and freedom later on.

5. Don’t forget the emotional side

Money is only half the picture you need when you think about retirement. Planning is also about shaping your days, your reasons for getting out of bed and the things you get a kick out of. Ask yourself: What will give me purpose? How will I stay connected? What do I want to be known for in this next chapter? And what experiences are important to plan for? Answering those questions now will make the transition into retirement smoother, more exciting, and more fulfilling.

The moment you stop drifting and start diving in is the true beginning of retirement planning. From there, every step you take isn’t just about the numbers - it’s about building the kind of future you can’t wait to step into.

And this is exactly why I created the Epic Retirement UK Flagship Course, which kicks off on the 28th of May. It is designed to give you a way to think more clearly about the years ahead with a solid framework to start turning vague thoughts into real plans.

Across six weeks, we explore the six pillars of an Epic Retirement, from pensions, budgeting and retirement income, through to purpose, health, relationships, travel and the role your home plays as you age.

But perhaps most importantly, the course helps you move from: “I should probably think about retirement someday…” to: “Right. Here’s the kind of life I want to build — and here’s how I might actually get there.”

And to celebrate the launch of the UK course, I wanted to share a free preview lesson with you today.

This lesson comes from Week 1 of the program and explores one of the most powerful frameworks in the course: The five stages of retirement.

Understanding these stages helps people stop viewing retirement as one giant leap into the unknown, and instead start seeing it as a transition that unfolds over time. Interestingly, these stages have very little to do with age, and much more to do with mindset, priorities and the way you make decisions.

If this resonates with you, the UK Pilot Edition of the How to Have an Epic Retirement Flagship Course is now open for enrolments at a special discounted pilot rate.

And because this is our very first UK cohort, we’re intentionally keeping the pilot small (only 200 spots are available!) so we can shape the future of the program together.

The course has already helped thousands of Australians feel more confident and optimistic about retirement, and this is the very first time we’re bringing a version built specifically for the UK retirement system to life.

Secure your spot now

Curious to learn more?

This is the only comprehensive, modern, 6-week ‘get ready for retirement’ program available in the UK. But it isn’t just about money.

The course runs over six weeks and includes around 100 lessons, interactive exercises, live expert Q&As, and a private community where participants can learn alongside others navigating this same transition.

Download a copy of our brochure to learn more about what’s included.

Learn more: Download the brochure

I am so excited for you to come on this journey with me. It all kicks off on the 28th of May and runs for six weeks.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out with your questions to ​bec@epicretirement.net

Cheers - let’s make it epic!

P.S. To celebrate the launch of the UK Course, we’re also giving away 5 free seats in the program. To go into the draw, simply give our Epic Retirement UK Facebook page a like and follow along.

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

We’re proudly launching our 6-week Epic Retirement education program in the UK!

After months of building, filming, adapting, writing and planning, I’m so excited to officially announce that the Epic Retirement UK Flagship Course is now open for bookings!

It’s a synchronous course, which means we all do it together over a six-week period beginning on the 28th of May 2026.

And, because this is our first ever program in the UK, we’re offering everyone who joins us on this pilot edition a special discounted rate (one that will never be offered again!) But spots are limited, as we are only offering this to 200 people.

Day one of bookings from the pre-release yesterday has just blown me away!

If you want to know more about the program, take a look below and at our new brochure.

I’d personally love to have you join us and I know you’ll reap the rewards. Plus - It’s a bargain you’ll probably never see again.

Secure your spot now

This course is designed to be practical and to help you build your retirement confidence

This is the only comprehensive, modern, 6-week ‘get ready for retirement’ program available in the UK. But it isn’t just about money.

Yes, we absolutely help you better understand retirement finances and how the system works. But we also explore purpose, identity, health, happiness, travel, work, relationships, and how to create a retirement lifestyle that actually feels meaningful and fulfilling.

Here’s a little look at what’s included:

✅ 14 practical retirement modules tailored to the UK system

✅ Over 70+ short, easy-to-follow video lessons

✅ Interactive exercises and activities throughout the course

✅ A downloadable Conversation Starter workbook to help you reflect and start important conversations

✅ Three live Q&A events with leading UK retirement experts

✅ Complete the program alongside a whole cohort approaching retirement. Learn how to make your retirement truly epic and have fun doing it.

✅ Exclusive discounted access to the UK edition eBook of How to Have an Epic Retirement

Learn more: Download the brochure

I am so excited for you to come on this journey with me. It all kicks off on the 28th of May and runs for six weeks.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out with your questions to ​bec@epicretirement.net

Cheers - let’s make it epic!

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

Feature: The two things that will shape your retirement more than money

From Bec’s Desk: Our Epic Retirement Flagship UK Course is launching on sale tomorrow

Read my articles in The Times: We’ve been married for 30 years but can’t agree on when to retire’

How much do you really need to retire in the UK?

It’s the most Googled retirement question in Britain. And the answer most people find sends them straight to a number that feels impossibly large. So let’s look at this properly.

The benchmark most financial planners use

Pensions UK publishes annual Retirement Living Standards that break down what different retirement lifestyles actually cost. They’re built on real research with real people, not just index-linked guesswork. Their 2025 figures describe three tiers:

A minimum retirement covers all your basic needs with a little left over – a week’s holiday in the UK, some leisure, no car. That costs £13,400 a year for a single person, £21,600 for a couple.

A moderate retirement adds a small car, a two-week European holiday, more flexibility on food and clothes, and the ability to eat out occasionally. That costs £31,300 for a single person, £43,900 for a couple.

A comfortable retirement means longer holidays, more eating out, a regular budget for replacing things around the home, and genuine financial freedom day to day. That costs £43,900 for a single person, £60,600 for a couple.

When people see those comfortable figures, many feel like they’re already running behind the standard they need to be at. Here’s what they’re missing.

The State Pension is doing more work than you think

The full new State Pension in 2026/27 pays £241.30 a week or £12,548 a year. You need 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions to get the full amount, and you can check your forecast right now at gov.uk.

Here’s the reassuring part: a couple where both partners receive the full State Pension already has around £25,096 a year between them, enough to meet the Minimum standard without drawing a single pound from private savings.

For most people, the real planning question isn’t “how do I replace my entire income from a pension pot?” It’s “how much do I need my private pension to add on top of the State Pension to reach the lifestyle I actually want?”

For a moderate retirement as a couple, that gap is roughly £18,800 a year between you. Split two ways, that’s under £10,000 each from private savings. That’s a very different number to the headline figures that tend to frighten people.

What the pot size actually depends on

Once you know the annual income gap you need to fill, you can work backwards. The two main ways to do it are drawdown: keeping your pension invested and drawing from it gradually; or an annuity, which gives you a guaranteed income for life in exchange for your pot.

For a moderate retirement, a single person would need a private pension pot of roughly £330,000–£490,000 depending on how they draw it. For comfortable, around £540,000–£800,000. For couples the numbers per person are significantly lower because of the shared State Pension and shared living costs.

These ranges are wide because the right strategy genuinely varies – annuity rates change with interest rates, drawdown exposes you to market timing, and how long you live changes everything. But the point is this: the numbers are manageable for most people who have been saving steadily, especially when the State Pension is doing its part.

Where do people go wrong?

My biggest concern comes from when people compare their pension pot to the comfortable headline figure and conclude they’re nowhere near and start to panic. But the Pensions UK figures already include the State Pension in the income calculation. Your pot only needs to bridge the gap not fund the whole thing.

So, check your State Pension forecast. Check what your workplace and private pensions are projecting at retirement. Then look at the gap between those two numbers and the lifestyle you actually want. That’s the real planning problem and it’s usually a lot more solvable than the headlines suggest.

How to Have an Epic Retirement walks you through exactly this process – from tracking down your pensions to building a clear picture of what you’ll have and what you’ll need.

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OK, we’re ready! And we’re rolling out the pilot of the How to Have an Epic Retirement Course in the UK this week! THIS WEEK!

I’m serious! It will go on sale Monday - and the people on our Expression of Interest list will be notified first. We’re only opening 200 places. We think that’s a good amount to launch a pilot with. In Australia when we launched our pilot 2 years ago - 200 places sold out in 4 days - and that was before it was proven to be a great course 😉. I’ve got my fingers crossed that the UK will be faster.

The pilot will be priced significantly lower than future courses - as we want you to be on board to provide feedback and help us shape anything that’s needed. In fact - we’d love your input and thoughts.

• It’s a six week program with 14 modules of content (about 100 lessons) all built specifically for the UK pensions system.

• There’s exercises and activities built into every module of the education program - it’s truly interactive.

• You do the program as a community, so you can chat with others doing the course on every lesson

• And there’s 3 live Q&As with some of the UK’s leading retirement experts.

• And there’s a conversation starter workbook to use around the table to get you thinking and talking about what you want.

• Oh, and you get an ebook version of How to Have an Epic Retirement too - as the textbook.

You can register your interest here (no obligation). And be first to learn about it.

The course will kick off in late May and go for 6 weeks. So it will be over by high Summer!

Lastly - have you got a friend approaching retirement who you think might enjoy this UK-centric newsletter? I invite you to share it with them. I’m writing weekly on issues related to your epic retirement. It’s designed to inspire and help! We can help more people if you help spread the lessons and the confidence you get from them.

Share Epic Retirement UK

Have a great Sunday! And until next week — make it epic.

Cheers,
Bec Xx

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

Get your copy of the UK Bestselling pre-retirement guidebook, How to Have an Epic Retirement: Your ultimate guide to living well, loving life and retiring with financial confidence.

We’ve been married for 30 years but can’t agree on when to retire’

Couples who have spent decades building a financial life together often forget to plan what happens when they stop work, says our retirement expert

Sarah and David had done everything right. They had paid off the mortgage, raised two children, built up decent pension pots, and were (on paper) well placed for their retirement. What they hadn’t done was talk to each other about how that retirement would actually look.

David, 61, was more than ready for his finish line. He had a date in mind and a list of things he wanted to do once he retired. Sarah, 58, had no intention of retiring. She had returned to work after their children had grown up and built a career she genuinely loved. She wasn’t ready to retire and, frankly, couldn’t imagine why anyone her age would be.

After years assuming that they were on the same page, when they eventually sat down to discuss their plans, they realised that they weren’t even reading from the same book.

Retirement planning is almost always framed as a numbers exercise — working out how much you have, how much you need, how long it will last and in what order to spend it to minimise tax. But for couples it should also be a negotiation, and one that you shouldn’t leave too late.

I am the retirement columnist for The Times, UK. You can read this, my most recent column here. And I’ve linked some other recent columns below.

The real risk from AI isn’t losing your job — it’s wrecking your retirement
A drop in income at 30 is inconvenient but at 50 it can be a disaster. We all need to wake up to the risks
Read more here

What I’ve heard should alarm every politician in the country
In an open letter to the government, Times Money’s retirement columnist sets out why people aren’t saving like they should
Read more here

The six biggest retirement fears — and how to solve them
Prepare for all the things that feel scary about giving up work, from running out of money to finding a way to fill up your time
Read more here

Feature: The two things that will shape your retirement more than money

From Bec’s Desk: Interesting changes to UK pensions approved

Read my articles in The Times: We’ve been married for 30 years but can’t agree on when to retire’

The two things that will shape your retirement more than money

There’s a question I get asked a lot, in various forms…

“Am I on track financially?”

It’s fair, and it matters a lot to retirement planning. But after years of working with people navigating this transition, I’ve come to believe there are two things that matter just as much as your super balance and almost nobody talks about them.

Curiosity and courage.

And, not in a motivational-poster way. In a very practical, neurological, life-outcome kind of way.

What happens to curiosity in midlife

For most of us, the years between 45 and 65 are full of work, family, ageing parents, financial pressure. And somewhere in the middle of all that busyness, curiosity quietly goes into hibernation. We stop asking “what if?” and default to the routines of life, not because we’re lazy, but because routine is efficient when life is demanding.

The problem is that retirement is precisely when curiosity becomes most important. Because retirement, at its core, isn’t a financial event, it’s an identity event. And navigating it well requires genuine openness to who you might become next. If you arrive at that transition without having exercised your curiosity, the blank page can feel terrifying and well… blank… rather than exciting.

But the science says we can get past this. And here’s how. When you become genuinely curious about something, your brain releases dopamine, a real reward hit that motivates you to keep exploring, which is why curiosity tends to build its own momentum. But it goes deeper than that. Curiosity also engages the hippocampus, the part of your brain responsible for memory and learning, which means you don’t just feel more motivated when you’re curious, you actually retain and apply what you learn better.

This matters enormously for anyone approaching retirement, because this is a period of significant learning: new financial decisions, new routines, a new relationship with time and your identity. The more curious you stay, the better equipped your brain is to process all of it. And because of neuroplasticity – or the brain’s ability to rewire itself – staying curious is also one of the best things you can do for your long-term cognitive health.

And then there’s courage

Curiosity is what opens the door. Courage is what gets you through it. Truly!

Most people misunderstand what courage actually is. It’s not the absence of fear, it’s acting in spite of it. Every time you consider doing something outside your comfort zone, the brain’s amygdala fires up a threat signal. That’s just your nervous system doing its job - like it did in caveman days when you were under threat. Courage happens when your prefrontal cortex takes the wheel anyway, weighs the actual risk, and moves forward.

Here’s the part I find genuinely encouraging: every time you act with courage – even in a small way – you’re rewiring your brain to be less reactive to that fear signal next time. You practise it, and it really does become easier.

Why does this matter? I hear you asking. The years just before retirement bring a cascade of genuinely difficult decisions: when to stop working, whether to downsize, how to align your timeline with your partner’s, what you actually want this chapter to look like. These aren’t purely financial questions. Stop and look at them! They’re all questions about identity, risk, and change. The people I see navigate them well tend to be curious about what’s possible and have enough courage to sit with uncertainty while they figure it out.

Here’s how to get started

If you’re feeling less curious and less courageous than you’d like to be, you don’t need a dramatic overhaul.

For curiosity, start with some small questions rather than grand intentions. Follow something that mildly interests you and see where it leads. Talk to people who think differently to you. Read outside your usual lane.

For courage, start with small risks and practise visualising the upside rather than fixating on what could go wrong. And be kind to yourself when it’s hard because courage means trying, not being perfect.

Retirement planning done well isn’t just about the money. It really is about having the curiosity to imagine what’s possible, and the courage to pursue it. And you’re never too old for that!

Where has your curiosity been hiding lately? Hit reply and let me know.

How to Have an Epic Retirement walks you through exactly this process – from tracking down your pensions to building a clear picture of what you’ll have and what you’ll need.

Leave a comment

Something both interesting and important happened in the UK this week - The Pension Schemes Bill passed, without much fanfare.

The UK’s Pension Schemes Act has now passed into law, and while it didn’t land with much hype, it signals a meaningful shift in how retirement savings will be managed over time.

At its core, the reform is trying to fix a very real and modern problem. Most people no longer have one pension that funds their retirement for life. They have several, often small pots spread across different jobs and providers created when they move workplaces and don’t really understand their pensions. Over time, that fragmentation can mean higher fees, lost accounts, and a lack of clarity about what you actually have. The new framework introduces mechanisms to automatically consolidate small pension pots, unless people choose to opt out. It’s a simple idea, but one that could improve outcomes by reducing duplication of fees and making savings easier to track.

There’s also a stronger focus on whether pension funds are delivering you real value. Regulators will have greater ability to assess performance and costs, and underperforming schemes may be required to improve, merge, or exit the market. The intention is to lift standards across the system rather than leave individuals to navigate quality differences on their own. We did this in Australia a few years ago - and the impact has been frankly MASSIVE over time. People started talking about pension performance and companies felt pressure when they don’t perform.

Another shift is the continued move toward larger, consolidated pension funds. Bigger schemes can access a wider range of investments and potentially operate more efficiently for members - AKA lower fees. In theory, that can support better long-term returns, although it also places more importance on governance, oversight and investment capability - things which are evolving inside funds right now.

For everyday people, nothing changes overnight. These reforms will be phased in over several years. But gradually, people are likely to see fewer pension accounts, clearer information being offered about the performance of their pension, and a more structured path from saving to drawing an income in retirement - which is important as your workplace often prescribes your pension strategy while you work; but no-one prescribes retirement so if you’re disinterested - it can hurt you to not understand your pension.

The bigger picture is this: pension systems are becoming more guided and less DIY - especially at retirement. That can be helpful, but it also means the design of the system itself plays a much bigger role in shaping retirement outcomes.

I’m watching this - and starting a project or two to help. (But I can’t share those yet!)

And alongside this, we’re rolling out the How to Have an Epic Retirement Course in the UK very soon - so you can better understand your choices as you approach retirement. And not just your financial choices. Your choices across the six pillars of an Epic Retirement.

You can register your interest here (no obligation), and we’ll be launching at pilot pricing (very low for this first run so we can gather feedback and refine it with you). It won’t be long now…. We anticipate our UK Pilot course will start in late May or early June and go for 6 weeks. So if you’re curious - sign up to learn more.

Lastly - have you got a friend approaching retirement who you think might enjoy this UK-centric newsletter? I invite you to share it with them. I’m writing weekly on issues related to your epic retirement. It’s designed to inspire and help! We can help more people if you help spread the lessons and the confidence you get from them.

Share Epic Retirement UK

Have a great Sunday! And until next week — make it epic.

Cheers,
Bec Xx

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

Get your copy of the UK Bestselling pre-retirement guidebook, How to Have an Epic Retirement: Your ultimate guide to living well, loving life and retiring with financial confidence.

We’ve been married for 30 years but can’t agree on when to retire’

Couples who have spent decades building a financial life together often forget to plan what happens when they stop work, says our retirement expert

Sarah and David had done everything right. They had paid off the mortgage, raised two children, built up decent pension pots, and were (on paper) well placed for their retirement. What they hadn’t done was talk to each other about how that retirement would actually look.

David, 61, was more than ready for his finish line. He had a date in mind and a list of things he wanted to do once he retired. Sarah, 58, had no intention of retiring. She had returned to work after their children had grown up and built a career she genuinely loved. She wasn’t ready to retire and, frankly, couldn’t imagine why anyone her age would be.

After years assuming that they were on the same page, when they eventually sat down to discuss their plans, they realised that they weren’t even reading from the same book.

Retirement planning is almost always framed as a numbers exercise — working out how much you have, how much you need, how long it will last and in what order to spend it to minimise tax. But for couples it should also be a negotiation, and one that you shouldn’t leave too late.

I am the retirement columnist for The Times, UK. You can read this, my most recent column here. And I’ve linked some other recent columns below.

The real risk from AI isn’t losing your job — it’s wrecking your retirement
A drop in income at 30 is inconvenient but at 50 it can be a disaster. We all need to wake up to the risks
Read more here

What I’ve heard should alarm every politician in the country
In an open letter to the government, Times Money’s retirement columnist sets out why people aren’t saving like they should
Read more here

The six biggest retirement fears — and how to solve them
Prepare for all the things that feel scary about giving up work, from running out of money to finding a way to fill up your time
Read more here

Feature: Millions of Brits are living with a retirement epidemic – and it has a name

From Bec’s Desk: A new financial year

Read my articles in The Times: We’ve been married for 30 years but can’t agree on when to retire’

Millions of Brits are living with a retirement epidemic – and it has a name - FORO

Are you one of them? Do you have FORO?

Despite all the talk of adventure, freedom, and making the most of your later years, the Fear of Running Out (FORO) is quietly gripping a huge number of people approaching retirement in the UK right now.

If you recognise that gnawing anxiety – the one that wakes you up at 3am wondering whether your money will actually last – you’re far from alone. In fact, you’re very much in the majority. Research consistently shows that running out of money in retirement is the number one financial fear among people in their fifties and sixties, even among those who’ve been saving diligently for decades.

The cruel irony? Many of these same people are sitting on more than they realise – or are closer to a workable retirement than they think. But that doesn’t make the fear any less real.

Why the anxiety is real – even if the picture isn’t as bleak as it feels

Auto-enrolment has been in place since 2012, which means millions more people are saving into workplace pensions than ever before. That’s genuinely good news. But the reality is, most of us spent our forties – and sometimes our fifties – paying off mortgages, raising kids, and managing the general chaos of life. Long-term pension saving often came second.

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) publishes the UK Retirement Living Standards each year, which give a useful benchmark. A comfortable retirement in the UK currently requires around £43,900 per year for a single person, or £60,600 for a couple. And the median pension pot for people approaching retirement is a long way short of what’s needed to generate that income.

The State Pension helps – the full New State Pension is currently £12,547 per year – but it’s not enough on its own, and not everyone qualifies for the full amount.

So if you’re looking at your numbers and feeling that stomach-dropping sense of is this really going to be enough, here’s a practical way to start working through it.

1. Get a clear picture of where you actually stand

FORO thrives in the fog. The first step is to pull everything together – your pension pots (and if you’ve had multiple employers, you may have more than you think), your ISAs, savings, any property, and likely debts or financial commitments.

Then check your State Pension forecast. You can do this in a few minutes at gov.uk. It tells you exactly how much you’re on track to receive and when. If you have gaps in your National Insurance record, you may be able to top them up – often at very good value.

Once you can see the full picture, you can start making real decisions rather than worrying in the abstract.

2. Build a realistic retirement budget

What does your retirement actually need to cost? Sit down and think through it properly – not just the basics, but the life you actually want. Travel. Hobbies. Helping the grandkids. Weekends away.

The PLSA Retirement Living Standards are a helpful starting point to reality-check your estimates. Be honest with yourself now, because clarity is far less frightening than uncertainty.

3. Map out where your income will come from

In retirement, your income shifts from a salary to a combination of sources: your pension drawdown, the State Pension, any ISA withdrawals, maybe some part-time work. Understanding how those layers stack together – and in what order you might draw from them – makes the whole thing feel much more manageable.

The government’s MoneyHelper website has retirement planning tools that can help you model this. And if you have a workplace pension, many providers also offer free guidance through Pension Wise, the government-backed service.

4. Get proper advice on how to invest and withdraw

Two of the most complex decisions in retirement are how to keep your pension invested as you approach and enter retirement, and how much you can sustainably take out each month.

The “4% rule” – withdrawing 4% of your pot in year one, then adjusting for inflation – is a useful rule of thumb. But it’s not gospel, and it doesn’t account for your State Pension, your ISAs, your tax position, or your specific goals.

A good financial adviser can help you build a strategy that actually fits your life. If your situation is relatively straightforward, Pension Wise (free, government-backed) is a great place to start before deciding whether you need fuller advice.

5. Consider whether part-time work is part of the equation

Retired doesn’t have to mean fully stopped. For many people, some form of part-time, flexible, or freelance work in the early years of retirement isn’t just about the money – it’s about staying connected, purposeful, and engaged.

Even a modest income from work can significantly reduce the pressure on your pension pot, and delay the point at which you need to draw it down heavily. That matters more than most people realise.

The bottom line

The best antidote to FORO isn’t a bigger pension pot. It’s a clearer picture of your real situation and a plan that accounts for what you actually have.

Many people who’ve faced this fear head on – who’ve done the numbers, sorted the State Pension, and made a proper plan – go on to have full, energetic, genuinely epic retirements. Not because they were wealthy, but because they stopped guessing and started knowing.

That’s the shift worth making.

How to Have an Epic Retirement walks you through exactly this process – from tracking down your pensions to building a clear picture of what you’ll have and what you’ll need.

Leave a comment

Roadshows, roadshows, roadshows.

For the past three weeks I’ve been travelling across Australia, teaching advisers about the future of modern retirement. One week to go – Adelaide and Perth next, which probably sound like they’re half a world away to you. They basically are. But this is home for me, Down Under.

That said, I’ve been keeping a close eye on what’s happening in the UK – particularly the Pension Schemes Bill and the changes coming that will make it easier to compare your pensions as you approach retirement.

I actually have a big project in the works on exactly this. Watch this space.

My belief is simple: everyone in the UK should be able to properly scrutinise their workplace pension – the performance, the fees, the service – and make an informed decision about which fund to consolidate into as they head for retirement. Right now, getting that data is harder than it should be. I’m working on something to change that – as I’ve already done in Australia.

More soon. In the meantime - tell me - how long until you retire? And do you know others like you who are retiring soon that are trying to find your way? Can you help them find this newsletter by sending it on?

In additional news - almost all the filming and editing work we need to do on our UK Epic Retirement course is finished and we’re gearing up the tech now. It’s not a small project to bring this course to life. So I hope you’re as excited as we are.

You can register your interest here (no obligation), and we’ll be launching at pilot pricing (very low for this first run so we can gather feedback and refine it with you). It won’t be long now…. We anticipate our UK Pilot course will start in late May and go for 6 weeks finishing right as Summer holidays hit. So if you’re curious - sign up to learn more.

Have a great Sunday! And until next week — make it epic.

Cheers,
Bec Xx

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

Get your copy of the UK Bestselling pre-retirement guidebook, How to Have an Epic Retirement: Your ultimate guide to living well, loving life and retiring with financial confidence.

We’ve been married for 30 years but can’t agree on when to retire’

Couples who have spent decades building a financial life together often forget to plan what happens when they stop work, says our retirement expert

Sarah and David had done everything right. They had paid off the mortgage, raised two children, built up decent pension pots, and were (on paper) well placed for their retirement. What they hadn’t done was talk to each other about how that retirement would actually look.

David, 61, was more than ready for his finish line. He had a date in mind and a list of things he wanted to do once he retired. Sarah, 58, had no intention of retiring. She had returned to work after their children had grown up and built a career she genuinely loved. She wasn’t ready to retire and, frankly, couldn’t imagine why anyone her age would be.

After years assuming that they were on the same page, when they eventually sat down to discuss their plans, they realised that they weren’t even reading from the same book.

Retirement planning is almost always framed as a numbers exercise — working out how much you have, how much you need, how long it will last and in what order to spend it to minimise tax. But for couples it should also be a negotiation, and one that you shouldn’t leave too late.

I am the retirement columnist for The Times, UK. You can read this, my most recent column here. And I’ve linked some other recent columns below.

The real risk from AI isn’t losing your job — it’s wrecking your retirement
A drop in income at 30 is inconvenient but at 50 it can be a disaster. We all need to wake up to the risks
Read more here

What I’ve heard should alarm every politician in the country
In an open letter to the government, Times Money’s retirement columnist sets out why people aren’t saving like they should
Read more here

The six biggest retirement fears — and how to solve them
Prepare for all the things that feel scary about giving up work, from running out of money to finding a way to fill up your time
Read more here

Feature: Your workplace pension was designed to get you started. It was never designed to be enough

From Bec’s Desk: A new financial year

Read my articles in The Times: A few to choose from

Your workplace pension was designed to get you started. It was never designed to be enough

Most people who’ve been in employment for the past decade or so have a workplace pension. Thanks to auto-enrolment, contributions have been going in automatically – yours, your employer’s, and a top-up from the government via tax relief. For millions of people, it’s been running in the background without them having to think about it much.

That’s the good news.

The less comfortable truth is that auto-enrolment was always designed as a floor, not a finish line. The minimum total contribution – currently 8% of qualifying earnings – was set at a level that would get people saving, not necessarily get them all the way to the epic retirement they’re dreaming of.

Most independent experts agree it’s not enough for most people. The government knows it too, which is why a formal review of pension adequacy is currently underway.

But that review will take years, and whatever changes come out of it will almost certainly apply going forward – not retrospectively. If you’re in your 50s or early 60s, you can’t afford to wait for the system to sort itself out.

The good news is you don’t need to. Here’s what to actually do if you’re sitting there wondering.

Step 1: Find out what you’ve got

If you’ve worked for multiple employers over the years, you likely have several pension pots in different places, some active, some frozen, some you’ve probably forgotten about entirely. Tracking them all down is the unglamorous and rather tedious first step, but it matters.

Check your current workplace pension, dig out old statements from previous employers, and think about whether you have any older personal pensions sitting dormant. The government’s pension tracing service can help if you’ve lost track.

Step 2: Check your State Pension forecast

The State Pension – now worth £241.30 a week, or just over £12,500 a year – is the foundation most people build from. But the amount you actually receive depends on your National Insurance record, and gaps are more common than people realise – from time out of work, caring responsibilities, self-employment, or years spent abroad.

You can check your forecast and fill gaps at gov.uk/check-state-pension. For many people, paying voluntary NI contributions to plug those gaps is one of the best-value financial moves available. Don’t skip this step.

Step 3: Work out what retirement will actually cost you

Most people focus on what they have without ever defining what they need it for. Before you can know whether you’re on track, you need a number to aim at.

Start with your current spending and adjust for retirement life. Some costs will fall , like commuting, work clothes, maybe a mortgage. Others will rise like travel, leisure, health, time with family. The Pensions UK Retirement Living Standards give you a useful benchmark: a comfortable retirement for a single person currently costs around £43,900 a year; for a couple, around £60,600. But treat those as a starting point, not a prescription. Your life has its own costs.

Step 4: Compare the two

Once you have a rough picture of what you’ll have coming in – State Pension, workplace pensions, any other savings or income – and what you’ll need, you can do the maths. Many people who’ve been anxious about this find the gap is smaller than they feared. Some find there isn’t one at all.

If there is a meaningful gap, you have more options than you might think: contributing more now, using carry-forward allowances from previous tax years to make a larger lump-sum contribution, adjusting your retirement timing by a year or two, or simply restructuring what you already have more efficiently.

A gap identified at 55 is very manageable. The same gap discovered at 64 is a much harder problem.

The bottom line

Auto-enrolment did something important – it got millions of people into the habit of saving. But a habit isn’t a plan to have enough and use it well. Knowing you have a pension isn’t the same as knowing it’s enough to rely on.

That information is available to you. It just requires a few hours of honest number-crunching and the willingness to look.

How to Have an Epic Retirement walks you through exactly this process – from tracking down your pensions to building a clear picture of what you’ll have and what you’ll need.

Leave a comment

Easter is behind us - and you know what that means? We’re on the run in new financial year, the new state pension rates are in place and so are the new benchmarks from Pensions UK for how much you need for a comfortable (or a moderate or modest) retirement.

I’m on the home stretch of the production the UK edition of the How to Have an Epic Retirement Flagship Course. The course is completely rebuilt for the UK system and has UK experts coming along for our Live Q&As too.

You can register your interest here (no obligation), and we’ll be launching at pilot pricing (very low for this first run so we can gather feedback and refine it with you). It won’t be long now…. We anticipate our UK Pilot course will start in late May and go for 6 weeks finishing right as Summer holidays hit. So if you’re curious - sign up to learn more.

And if you haven’t caught my recent reels on social media, I’ve been doing a few short micro-lessons breaking down how to navigate retirement step by step. Worth a follow if you’re not already across them — link below.

• Facebook.com/epicretirementuk

• Instagram.com/epicretirementuk

Have a great Sunday! And until next week — make it epic.

Cheers,
Bec Xx

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

Get your copy of the UK Bestselling pre-retirement guidebook, How to Have an Epic Retirement: Your ultimate guide to living well, loving life and retiring with financial confidence.

I am the retirement columnist for The Times. I write fortnightly. Here’s a few of my recent columns:

The real risk from AI isn’t losing your job — it’s wrecking your retirement
A drop in income at 30 is inconvenient but at 50 it can be a disaster. We all need to wake up to the risks
Read more here

What I’ve heard should alarm every politician in the country
In an open letter to the government, Times Money’s retirement columnist sets out why people aren’t saving like they should
Read more here

The six biggest retirement fears — and how to solve them
Prepare for all the things that feel scary about giving up work, from running out of money to finding a way to fill up your time
Read more here

Feature: Scientists have proven that ageing doesn’t have to mean decline

From Bec’s Desk: A quiet week

Read my article in The Times: The Iran war shines a spotlight on Britain’s pensions divide

Scientists have proven that ageing doesn’t have to mean decline

I’m going to ask you to set aside everything you think you know about getting older for a minute. Because a study has just been published in the the journal Geriatrics, from Yale, one of the world’s most respected research institutions, that has basically torn up the standard story about ageing. And I think it deserves way more attention than it’s getting.

Here’s the headline finding: nearly half of the older adults in the study actually improved in brain function, physical capacity, or both, over a period of up to 12 years.

Not “saw their health decline more slowly” and not “held steady as they got older!” They IMPROVED!

Just soak in that for a second!

The stories of getting old we tell ourselves become our reality

We have been marinated, from childhood, from every insurance ad, from every well-meaning doctor’s appointment, in a single story about ageing. That it goes one way - downhill, in a gradual and inevitable way, universally.

And, that story has been shaping your biology all throughout your life. But now, you could choose a different story to shape yourself around. One that has scientific backing!

The Yale researchers, led by Dr Becca Levy, followed more than 11,000 people aged 65 and over for up to 12 years. When they averaged everyone’s results together, which is how most ageing studies work, they saw what you’d expect – Decline. Cognitive scores dropped and walking speed slowed.

But then they did something different. They looked at individual trajectories instead of group averages. And that’s where things got interesting.

Nearly 45% showed improvement in cognitive function, physical function, or both. Around 32% actually improved their brain scores. Around 28% were walking faster at the end of the study than they were at the start.

So what made the difference?

Here’s the part that will either make you nod and smile or make you a little uncomfortable.

The researchers tested whether what people believed about ageing – the assumptions they brought into the study – predicted what actually happened to their health over the following decade.

And it did! Significantly.

People who held more positive beliefs about ageing were measurably more likely to show improvements in both brain function and walking speed, even after you account for age, sex, education, chronic disease and depression.

Your beliefs about ageing appear to be a biological input into how your body responds. Not just a mood or attitude. Something that’s actually shaping what happens inside your body over time.

Dr Levy has a name for this: ‘stereotype embodiment theory’. The idea is that from a young age, we absorb messages about what ageing looks like from ads, media, culture, the casual way people talk about getting old. Eventually those messages stop being abstract and become deeply personal. They shift from describing other people to describing you. And at that point, they start showing up in the body.

Her earlier research linked negative age beliefs to poorer memory, slower walking speed, higher cardiovascular risk, and brain markers associated with Alzheimer’s disease. This new study adds the other side of that coin: positive age beliefs predict improvement.

I find this extraordinarily exciting.

Something important to think about

I want to flag something specific in this research that I think it’s the most important part. The researchers didn’t just look at people who were struggling and got better. They did a separate analysis on people who had normal cognitive and physical function at the start – people who were already doing fine.

Among that group? Around 28% still improved their brain function over time. Around 23% improved their walking speed.

This wasn’t recovery from illness. This was people who were already healthy getting better as they got older

The researchers call it “reserve capacity.” The idea that later life holds more potential for growth than our culture has been giving it credit for. I’ve been saying this for years, and honestly it’s kind of wonderful to see Yale prove it.

So, what do you actually believe about getting older?

I ask this genuinely because I want you to stop and think about it.

If you’ve absorbed the standard cultural story (decline is inevitable, the body just fades, the brain slips, the best years of your life are behind you), that story may be doing you real harm. Not just to your mood or your motivation. Potentially to your actual health trajectory.

The good news and I want to be clear this is genuinely good news is that the researchers say age-related beliefs are modifiable. You can change them. And because you can change them, there’s real scope for doing something about it.

That might look like this:

• Noticing the internal voice that says well, at my age... and asking whether it’s actually true

• Deliberately seeking out people who are thriving – not just surviving – in their 60s, 70s, 80s

• Pushing back when the cultural narrative around you defaults to telling you about your imminent decline

And let me be clear. None of this is about toxic positivity or pretending the challenges that come with getting older don’t exist. They do – ageing is real. But the research is telling us that the trajectory into later life is far less fixed than we’ve been led to believe – and that what we expect from life has a measurable effect on what we experience.

Maybe, if you already believe you’ll have an epic retirement, then you’re on the right path.

So here’s my challenge for you this week: Think about one story you’re telling yourself about ageing that might not actually be serving you? It might be time to rewrite it.

Source: Levy, B.R. & Slade, M.D. (2026). “Aging Redefined: Cognitive and Physical Improvement with Positive Age Beliefs.” Geriatrics, 11(2), 28.

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I cover a lot more on this in How to Have an Epic Retirement, my UK Bestseller (An Australian/New Zealand edition is also available)

I realise every day, whether I’m walking downstairs to my little home office or driving to the airport for a speaking gig, that I’m a very lucky person to love what I do so much.

This week was a full week at the desk. Articles, podcasts, newsletters, courses. No events, no travel, no distractions. I got a lot done towards our UK Course, which is coming together beautifully. Next week makes up for it though: Adelaide and Tassie, here I come.

And if you haven’t caught my recent reels on social media, I’ve been doing a few short micro-lessons breaking down how to navigate retirement step by step. Worth a follow if you’re not already across them — link below.

• Facebook.com/epicretirementuk

• Instagram.com/epicretirementuk

We are indeed putting the finishing touches on the UK course (How to Have an Epic Retirement Flagship Course). It’s quite a big effort to product a course of this scale - one that runs for 6 weeks, with 14 modules (85+ videos) of lessons and a whole lot of integrated activities.

The course will be similar to the program we run in Australia that is becoming quite popular indeed. We’ve booked in our live Q+A guests. We’re just making sure all the tech is on track before we launch it for you to book your places. Not long now.

You can register your interest here (no obligation), and we’ll be launching at pilot pricing (very low for this first run so we can gather feedback and refine it with you). It won’t be long now…. We anticipate our UK Pilot course will start in late May and go for 6 weeks finishing right as Summer holidays hit. So if you’re curious - sign up to learn more.

Now get out there and love your Sunday.

And until next week — make it epic.

Cheers,
Bec Xx

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

Get your copy of the new UK Bestselling pre-retirement guidebook, How to Have an Epic Retirement: Your ultimate guide to living well, loving life and retiring with financial confidence.

The Iran war shines a spotlight on Britain’s pensions divide

Amid volatile markets many savers are having to rethink their retirement plans — but some are sitting pretty

A month into the war in Iran and retired people are feeling the pressure, which is coming from many directions. I put the question out to my Epic Retirement Club on Facebook: how are you faring?

The responses came flooding in and they told a story of pragmatism tinged with genuine concern for what’s going on and how the war might develop from here.

The big pain points for those who are already in or on the brink of retirement are different from those affecting the rest of the population. That’s particularly the case for those who had a big date in mind: the sequencing risk problem is real but is not really appreciated by those for whom a specific retirement day isn’t looming.

If you’re still accumulating, a market downturn is painful but there is time to recover. If, however, you’ve stopped working and are drawing down to fund your living expenses, selling assets while prices are depressed damages your pot in a way that is not easy to undo.

Your income doesn’t rise with inflation if you do that and, without reversing your retirement decision, you cannot work extra hours to compensate for the money lost. If you had a retirement date circled on the calendar, the maths of whether you can actually afford to stop just got considerably more complicated.

Read the rest of this article here in The Times. It was published on Wednesday 1 April 2026. I write fortnightly for The Times - keep an eye out as my next article will drop soon!

Feature: The UK State Pension goes up this week

From Bec’s Desk: Happy Easter!

Read my article in The Times: The Iran war shines a spotlight on Britain’s pensions divide

The UK State Pension goes up this week

Here’s what changes, who gets it, and what to check if you’re not there yet

The UK State Pension goes up again this week, and if you’re building your retirement plan around UK rules, it’s one of those numbers worth keeping an eye on.

From 6th April 2026, the full new State Pension increases from £230.25 a week to £241.30 a week. That’s an extra £11.05 a week, or about £574.60 a year.

For those on the older system, the full basic State Pension goes from £176.45 a week to £184.90 a week, an increase of £8.45 a week, or around £439.40 a year.

These new rates apply for the 2026/27 financial year and reflect the annual increase under the UK’s uprating rules.

That is all good news. But as always with the State Pension, the headline number is only part of the story.

Not everyone gets the full amount. Your State Pension depends on your National Insurance record. Under the current rules, people whose National Insurance record started after April 2016 generally need 35 qualifying years to receive the full new State Pension. If your record started before April 2016, it can be more complicated, especially if you were contracted out, and you may need more than 35 qualifying years to get the full amount.

So if you are already at State Pension age, the main thing to know is that the payment has gone up. If you are not there yet, the more important question is not really “what is the full rate?” It is “what am I personally on track to get?”

That is the bit a lot of people skip.

The earliest point you can receive State Pension is your State Pension age. For many people that is currently 66, but it is not the same for everyone. Under current legislation, State Pension age is rising from 66 to 67 between 2026 and 2028. If you were born between 6 April 1960 and 5 March 1961, your State Pension age will be 66 plus a number of months depending on your exact date of birth. If you were born from 6 March 1961 to 5 April 1977, your State Pension age is 67 under current law.

That means this is a very practical moment to check three things.

First, check when you will actually become eligible. The official GOV.UK State Pension age tool will tell you the age you can claim under current law.

Second, check how much you are on track to receive. The official State Pension forecast service shows how much you could get, when you can get it, and whether you can increase it.

Third, check whether you have any gaps in your National Insurance record. The forecast service also points out whether you may be able to improve your entitlement, including by paying to fill gaps in some cases.

This really matters because the State Pension is a foundation, but for most people it is not the whole retirement plan. Even with the increase, the full new State Pension works out to a bit over £12,500 a year at the new rate. Helpful, yes. Enough on its own for the kind of retirement many people want, not usually. That is why it makes sense to treat it as one layer of retirement income rather than the answer to everything. The useful work happens before you get there: checking your age, checking your forecast, checking for gaps, and then working out how it fits with your workplace pensions, personal pensions, savings and timing.

If you want a simple takeaway, it is this: the State Pension has gone up, which is good news, but if you are still a few years off, the real job this week is to make sure you know your own number, your own date, and whether there is anything you can still do to improve it.

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I cover a lot more on this in How to Have an Epic Retirement, my UK Bestseller (An Australian/New Zealand edition is also available)

Hard to believe it’s April, isn’t it? And we’re bracing for what’s shaping up to be the most expensive fuel at Easter in history. Gulp.

I almost don’t want to admit I’m a Tesla owner at times like this. My car, a bottom-of-the-range Model 3, is no ego-wagon. It’s seven years old, white, and has cost me a grand total of $400 in servicing over its lifetime, and one set of tyres. So it’s quietly holding up its end of the bargain. How’s yours going?

Anyway, onto more serious things. This week was deliciously short. I keynoted two Adviser events in Australia. It also marked week 6, the final week of our Aussie Autumn How to Have an Epic Retirement Flagship Course.

I genuinely love running these courses and being part of the live sessions and I’m very excited to be launching the UK program in just weeks! I mean - check out this new feedback from the latest courses:

“I would consider this an essential course for everyone. I would recommend reading Prime Time and Epic Retirement, and unlike me at 62 years old and retired to do so earlier in life to be ready. Great coverage of lots of topics relevant to all of us. Thank you for the books and the course.”

“Feeling in a better place to handle everything now. Thank you”

“Terrific program. We loved the content and Bec’s delivery style is just so engaging. Highly recommend the course, and likewise Bec’s wonderful books “How to have and Epic Retirement” and “Prime Time”, and her podcast “Prime Time”.”

“This course has been very helpful. It has put the planning for retirement in to a structure I can follow and given me hope for an Epic Retirement. I was very anxious about my low super balance and nil savings, being divorced and having to do it all on my own. But now it feels doable. I can still do some of the travel overseas I have always dreamed of. Thanks for this opportunity to participate in this great course. Highly recommended to everyone over 50 years old.”

100% of people who’d finished this week said they’d recommend the course to their friends too!

I’m blushing. But honestly, what a buzz.

As I said, we’re putting the finishing touches on the workbook and course edits for the How to Have an Epic Retirement UK Course. We’re in the editing stage now, with all the filming done. It’s quite a big effort to product a course of this scale - one that runs for 6 weeks, with 14 modules (85+ videos) of lessons. And there’s a 130+ page workbook too!

As I mentioned last week, the course will take a very similar shape to the one we run in Australia, as it’s become quite popular here. We’ve locked down our live Q&A guests so we’re full steam towards releasing the course for sale in the next few weeks.

You can register your interest here (no obligation), and we’ll be launching at pilot pricing (very low for this first run so we can gather feedback and refine it with you). It won’t be long now…. We anticipate our UK Pilot course will start in May and go for 6 weeks finishing right as Summer holidays hit. So if you’re curious - sign up to learn more.

Now, that’s enough of the heavy stuff - it’s time for some chocolate.

Hope you’re having a lovely, family-or-friend-filled Easter. And there’s plenty of chocolate around you today.

Until next week — make it epic.

Cheers,
Bec Xx

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

Get your copy of the new UK Bestselling pre-retirement guidebook, How to Have an Epic Retirement: Your ultimate guide to living well, loving life and retiring with financial confidence.

The Iran war shines a spotlight on Britain’s pensions divide

Amid volatile markets many savers are having to rethink their retirement plans — but some are sitting pretty

A month into the war in Iran and retired people are feeling the pressure, which is coming from many directions. I put the question out to my Epic Retirement Club on Facebook: how are you faring?

The responses came flooding in and they told a story of pragmatism tinged with genuine concern for what’s going on and how the war might develop from here.

The big pain points for those who are already in or on the brink of retirement are different from those affecting the rest of the population. That’s particularly the case for those who had a big date in mind: the sequencing risk problem is real but is not really appreciated by those for whom a specific retirement day isn’t looming.

If you’re still accumulating, a market downturn is painful but there is time to recover. If, however, you’ve stopped working and are drawing down to fund your living expenses, selling assets while prices are depressed damages your pot in a way that is not easy to undo.

Your income doesn’t rise with inflation if you do that and, without reversing your retirement decision, you cannot work extra hours to compensate for the money lost. If you had a retirement date circled on the calendar, the maths of whether you can actually afford to stop just got considerably more complicated.

Read the rest of this article here in The Times. It was published on Wednesday 1 April 2026. I write fortnightly for The Times - keep an eye out as my next article will drop soon!

Feature: Your first year of retirement: the biggest challenge might not be your money

From Bec’s Desk: Preparing the Epic Retirement UK Course - it’s almost ready

Read my article in The Times: The real risk from AI isn’t losing your job — it’s wrecking your retirement

Your first year of retirement: the biggest challenge might not be your money

Most people spend more time planning their retirement finances than they spend thinking about who they’ll actually be when they get there. That’s a problem, and it tends to show up about six months in.

Here’s the question I want you to sit with this week: if someone asked you to describe yourself at a dinner party the week after you retire, what would you say? For most of us, the answer has been the same for twenty or thirty years. You lead with what you do. Your job title, your industry, your company. It’s shorthand for competence, status and purpose all at once. And then one day, it’s just gone.

This isn’t a small thing. Research on retirement consistently shows that identity loss, not financial stress, is the most common cause of what people describe as a difficult first year. The people who struggle most aren’t usually the ones who ran out of money. They’re the ones who ran out of answer to the question: what do I do with myself now?

The good news is that this is entirely workable, but only if you start thinking about it before you get there, not after.

So here are three questions worth sitting with this week:

What do you do that has nothing to do with work? Not what you’d like to do in retirement, but what you actually do now, outside of your job. If the honest answer is not much, that’s important information. Retirement doesn’t conjure purpose out of thin air. It just removes the structure that was filling the space.

Who are you to the people who matter most to you? Your partner, your kids, your close friends. How do they describe you? What role do you play that has nothing to do with your career? That version of you is the foundation you’re building on.

What would you do on a Tuesday at 11am if you had no obligations and no agenda? Not a holiday Tuesday. A regular one. If you can’t answer that with something specific and genuine, it’s worth spending more time on that question than on your superannuation projections this week.

Retirement is long. For most people reading this, it’s twenty to thirty years. The financial plan gets you there. The identity work is what makes it worth arriving.

Start that work now. It’s more important than you think.

Bec Xx

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I cover a lot more on this in How to Have an Epic Retirement, my UK Bestseller (An Australian/New Zealand edition is also available)

The weather is starting to turn on both sides of the world. Down under where I am the heat is starting to dissipate. I’m hoping you’re starting to feel things warm up on the other side of the world.

I’ve been traveling across Australia and will be for the next five weeks, as a keynote speaker on an Adviser Roadshow. I love getting out there. My topic is “The future of Retirement” and what it will look like over the years ahead. This week I saw the inside of Canberra, next week I’ll be in the beautiful Gold Coast.

And, while I’m on the road, I’m putting the finishing touches on the workbook for the How to Have an Epic Retirement UK Course. We’re in the editing stage now, with all the filming done. It’s quite a big effort to product a course of this scale - one that runs for 6 weeks, with 14 modules (85+ videos) of lessons. And there’s a 130+ page workbook too!

As I mentioned last week, the course will take a very similar shape to the one we run in Australia, as it’s become quite popular here. We’ve locked down our live Q&A guests so we’re full steam towards releasing the course for sale in the next two weeks.

You can register your interest here (no obligation), and we’ll be launching at pilot pricing (very low for this first run so we can gather feedback and refine it with you). The course will start in May and go for 6 weeks finishing right as Summer holidays hit.

And, if you’re a Facebook or Instagram user I’ve kicked off new, UK-specific accounts too, so if you want to see them, please pop both a follow at Facebook.com/epicretirementuk and Instagram.com/epicretirementuk

Until next week — make it epic.

Cheers,
Bec Xx

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

How to Have an Epic Retirement: The Book

Get your copy.

Get your copy of the new UK Bestselling pre-retirement guidebook, How to Have an Epic Retirement: Your ultimate guide to living well, loving life and retiring with financial confidence.

Currently #5 on the Amazon UK Bestseller List for Retirement Planning and #1 on the Amazon Australia Bestseller List for Retirement Planning 😉

The real risk from AI isn’t losing your job - it’s wrecking your retirement

A few short weeks ago, before war broke out in Iran, everyone was worried about how AI was going to affect companies, jobs and the stock market. I also heard a lot about how it may affect our children’s future careers.

The one thing I didn’t hear a lot of talk about was how it could affect our personal finances, and what we should do to prepare for the risk that AI may take parts of our jobs, alter our industries for ever and render the skills we’ve spent years building much less valuable. And most people aren’t remotely prepared for that.

We tend to think about work in fixed terms. You build a career, your income grows, you move up the hierarchy and then at some point you retire. For decades that model has underpinned how we save, invest and plan.

Read the rest of this article here in The Times. It was published on Friday 20th March (and in Print on Saturday 21st March 2026). I write fortnightly for The Times - keep an eye out as my next article will drop any day!

Feature: What I’d actually do this weekend if I was 55 or 65 and the world felt a bit wobbly

From Bec’s Desk: The UK Epic Retirement course is about to launch

Read my article in The Times: The real risk from AI isn’t losing your job — it’s wrecking your retirement

What I’d actually do this weekend if I was 55 or 65 and the world felt a bit wobbly

What a week! Oil hit $113 a barrel yesterday and it could go higher before this newsletter even reaches you. Petrol is sitting at around 145p a litre right now, up nearly 10p in just three weeks. Diesel is worse! The war in the Gulf is now in its fourth week with no sign of letting up, and the Bank of England, which had been expected to cut rates this week, held at 3.75% and quietly warned that hikes might be back on the table if things drag on.

Energy bills were already 14% higher in real terms than before Ukraine. Mortgage rates on fixed deals have been creeping back above 5%. And if you’re already feeling the squeeze at the supermarket and the petrol station, none of this will feel surprising.

So if you’re in your 50s or 60s and that familiar knot of worry has crept back in this week, I want to talk to you like we’re friends. Because there are a few things worth doing this weekend. None of them are particularly hard or scary, but they matter.

First, step away from the noise for a bit

Turn off the finance news for the weekend. Not because what’s happening doesn’t matter – it clearly does – but because none of the decisions you need to make right now will be improved by watching oil tickers and hearing market updates scroll past all Saturday.

The Gulf disruption, the inflation creep, the Ofgem uncertainty – these are real. But they’re largely outside your control. What you can control is whether you respond thoughtfully or react out of fear. And that always starts with slowing down and really thinking things through.

Remind yourself what your actual timeline is

Here’s the question I’d ask you to sit with: “when do you actually need to draw on your investments or pension for income?”

Not when you want to stop working. When you’ll genuinely need the money to live on.

For a lot of people between 55 and 65, the honest answer is still five, eight, even ten or more years away. Markets have come back from oil shocks before, in 1973, 1990, 2008. They’ve recovered from worse than this. The FTSE has fallen about 10% from its highs right now already, with all of this. Time is what gives your investments room to breathe.

If you’re already drawing from your pension or ISA, the question shifts a little, but the heart of it is the same: “do you have enough in stable, lower-risk assets to avoid being forced to sell the good growth stuff while it’s down?”

Check whether you have a buffer and be honest about it

This is the one I keep coming back to with people in this season of life.

Do you have two or three years of living expenses sitting in something stable like a cash ISA, easy-access savings, a fixed-rate bond? Not in the volatility of the stock market. Somewhere it just sits, ideally keeping pace with inflation, but ready when you need it.

Because if you do, you can ride this out. You’re not forced to sell when markets are wobbling. You have choices. That buffer isn’t dead money, it’s the thing that lets you stay calm while everyone else is anxious.

IF YOU DON’T HAVE A BUFFER RIGHT NOW

I want to be straight with you here, because glossing over this doesn’t help anyone. If you don’t have much set aside outside of your pension or investments, this week probably felt harder than it needed to. And that’s worth acknowledging — not as a reason to panic, but as useful information.

The question to sit with this weekend isn’t “how do I fix everything at once.” It’s simpler: what’s one thing I could do in the next 90 days to start building a bit more breathing room?

Maybe it’s redirecting £200 a month into a cash ISA you don’t touch. Maybe it’s looking honestly at where money is quietly leaking out. Maybe it’s a call to your pension provider’a guidance team or an independent financial adviser – not to overhaul everything, just to understand where you actually stand. (Worth knowing: when markets are turbulent, advisers get very busy. Don’t leave that call too long and expect to wait for an appointment.)

You can’t build a buffer overnight. But you can decide to start this weekend. That decision, made quietly over a cup of tea on a Saturday morning, matters more than people realise.

Have an honest look at your spending right now

With petrol up, the weekly shop creeping higher and energy costs rising again, your day-to-day spending has probably gone up without you even noticing. This isn’t about cutting back dramatically, it’s about knowing where you stand.

Grab a cup of tea and spend half an hour with your last few months of bank statements. Just three questions:

• What am I actually spending each month right now?

• Has that crept up in the last three months?

• Is there anywhere I can claw back a bit of breathing room?

You’re not looking for the perfect spending process. You’re just looking for a clearer picture of your spending than you had on Friday and where you could make sensible trims.

Finally, think about what this stage of life is really asking of you

There’s a shift that happens for a lot of people in their 50s. It stops being just about building wealth and starts being also about protecting what you’ve built, so you can actually enjoy it. Making the choices you want to make. Feeling secure enough to sleep at night.

In that context, another week of volatile markets and geopolitical noise shouldn’t be a melodramatic concern. It should be a prompt or a reminder to check whether your setup actually gives you flexibility and the ability to make good decisions rather than being forced into bad ones.

That’s what this weekend is for. Calmly taking stock of where you are, and taking a little more control of where you want to be.

I’ll leave you with this.

The war in the Gulf is looking pretty serious. The oil price is genuinely high. The cost of living pressure is real – and if you’re already stretched, none of this feels easy. I’m not going to pretend otherwise.

But the people who come through these periods best aren’t the ones who predicted it or moved everything to cash in February (because they never know when to get back in). They’re the ones who had a plan they trusted, a buffer they could lean on, and the discipline not to let the noise make their decisions for them.

If you’ve got the buffer – great. Sit tight and trust the plan.

If you don’t – this is your weekend to decide to start building one. That decision, made over a cup of tea on a Sunday morning, is worth more than you might think right now.

You’ve got this. And I’ll be here with you through it.

Bec x

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I cover a lot more on this in How to Have an Epic Retirement, my UK Bestseller (An Australian/New Zealand edition is also available)

This week I’m packing my bags for a mum’s weekend away… my last one ever through the school structure and it feels like the end of something.

My youngest is in their final year of school, and it’s just hit me that all those built-in structures, the school rhythms, the WhatsApp groups, the sideline chats, the annual mums’ weekends… they’re starting to fall away.

This one feels like a bit of a milestone. A little emotional, if I’m honest.

I’d love to say I’m breezing into this next phase, but there’s a small part of me wondering… what replaces it? If you’re a few steps ahead of me and have navigated this shift, I’d genuinely love to hear how it unfolded for you.

Meanwhile, behind the scenes, something exciting is taking shape.

We’ve just finished recording the UK version of the How to Have an Epic Retirement course. It’s been such an interesting process adapting everything to fit the UK system, from pensions and drawdown to how people actually think about retirement here.

We’ve also locked down our live Q&A guests, and it’s all coming together beautifully.

We’ll be running the UK and Australian courses side by side, just in different time zones, each with fully localised programs. It still feels slightly surreal to say that. Two sides of the world.

You can register your interest here (no obligation), and we’ll be launching at pilot pricing (very low for this first run so we can gather feedback and refine it with you) in the next 7–10 days, once the final details, guest speakers and workbooks are all ready. The course will start in May and go for 6 weeks finishing right as Summer holidays hit.

If you’re a Facebook or Instagram user I’ve kicked off new, UK-specific accounts too, so if you want to see them, please pop both a follow at Facebook.com/epicretirementuk and Instagram.com/epicretirementuk

It really does feel like a season of endings… and openings. I can’t wait to launch.

Until next week — make it epic.

Cheers,
Bec Xx

Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker

Back at the top of the bestseller list

Look at that will you! Our little UK edition is back at the top of two of Amazon’s big bestseller lists this week. If you haven’t got yourself a copy, you’re missing out.

Get your copy of the new UK Bestselling pre-retirement guidebook, How to Have an Epic Retirement: Your ultimate guide to living well, loving life and retiring with financial confidence.

The real risk from AI isn’t losing your job - it’s wrecking your retirement

A few short weeks ago, before war broke out in Iran, everyone was worried about how AI was going to affect companies, jobs and the stock market. I also heard a lot about how it may affect our children’s future careers.

The one thing I didn’t hear a lot of talk about was how it could affect our personal finances, and what we should do to prepare for the risk that AI may take parts of our jobs, alter our industries for ever and render the skills we’ve spent years building much less valuable. And most people aren’t remotely prepared for that.

We tend to think about work in fixed terms. You build a career, your income grows, you move up the hierarchy and then at some point you retire. For decades that model has underpinned how we save, invest and plan.

Read the rest of this article here in The Times. It was published on Tuesday 3rd March (and in Print on Saturday 21st March 2026). I write fortnightly for The Times - keep an eye out as my next article will drop any day!