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emmm - I have no figures to prove this but I believe the average public and civil service service pension is around £11k pa. The only good thing about this is that the pension does retain its...

It's alway been like that, even a civil servant on a fully indexed pension plus state pension will not be that well off, he won't go hungry but neither will he thrive.

The simple answer is to...

This is entirely correct.

I have been in Spain for nearly 20 days and my expenditure on fuel, shopping and eating out is considerably lower than in the UK. I would guesstimate that the overall...

When we are in the UK, we live within 4 miles of our 3 sons and even our grandchildren who work also live in the immediate area, so we have a really good network of family and friends.

We also...

Our problem was that Sue had a stroke in Dec 2020 and although she has made a reasonable recovery, the maximum distance she can walk on her walker is about half a mile and then she is zonked. There...

I am coming up for 75 and will admit to slowing up a bit and lifestyle habits are indeed changing.

I now employ a gardener and general handyman to do the things that I once did as a matter of...

Hi Martyn

Yes so I realise. I knew there was a place called Gale near Denia and I presumed that's where you are going.

I got to be honest I have never been to Portugal so I know nothing about...

I think you have done the right thing but you will need to adjust to a couple of things.

First you will tear your hair our when the shops and businesses shut for the daily siesta between 2.00pm -...

It's just August that's the hot month and it really is best to get out of it. I am still stuck out here (another flight got cancelled on Friday) and August was an absolute killer. The pool...

The truth is no one really knows.

Spain in particular wants the weekly tourist to continue to flood out Benidorm and they also value the expats who bring their retirement pots over from the UK,...

Best advice is not to take taxation advice until you know what house you are going to buy. The variation between regions is enormous. I cringe when I hear the term "Spanish law", there is no such...

The cost of living in Portugal is even cheaper than in Spain and as been previously stated, if you play your cards right, your UK income that you transfer into Portugal will be tax free for 10 years....

Yes and we also did remarkably well on property which can fund a retirement.

I bought my first house, a two bedroomed cottage with a garage, for £2,750.00 in 1970. Getting the mortgage was a 20...

The simple truth is that baby boomers, of which I am one, have really screwed the system to our advantage. We paid very low contributions on the basis that we paid in to fund the retirement of those...

Staying at home when the wife is out working is a bit of a no mans land.

Your best bet is to do either locum or consultancy and just pick your time and hours and treat yourself to a Harley or...

To be frank, if you cannot afford to buy a car for cash, you should not even be thinking of retiring. Carry on working is the best advice I would give to anyone in that position.

If you have the ability to stop worrying about about any supposed or real consequences of Brixit, buying a property in Spain is a good long term bet.

If you want a 4 bed villa with a pool, you...

I couldn't live on that but I will admit to living a rather over indulgent lifestyle. I have three houses (one in the UK and two in Spain) which I flit around in. So I have to maintain 3 houses and I...

To take retirement or to delay - that is the question.

Just received a message this morning, my Brother in Law has just been diagnosed with multiple terminal cancers. He is in his late fifties. So...

I jumped at 61.

I have a villa in Spain and we spend 24 lovely weeks every year here. I also flit around Europe (nice easy short flights) and it is a good life.

Does it beat working - what do...