What Can I Do If I Lack Purpose in Retirement?

I was sat in my Rutland office, which until recently was a converted barn on a farm. We looked out of the meeting room window to see rolling fields, with Red Kites swooping in the sky, and hares playing on the ground. On this September morning I was with a long-standing client of mine, called David, a flat cap, welly wearing farmer that is shorter than I am…. Yes that is possible thank you!

“Charlie, the time has come for me to retire, and thanks to the help that you have given me over the years, particularly with the lifetime cashflow forecasting you have done, I am now comfortable that I do have enough money to live off for the rest of my life. The problem is, that isn’t what worries me the most. What worries is, what am I going to do with my time when I stop farming. Am I going to be bored hanging around the home all of the time? And how am I going to stay fit? Am I going to have to start going to the gym for spinning classes clad in lycra? “

“David”, I said, I understand your concerns, because I have heard them many times before. They are also not far from the battles of my own that I work through in recent years. I do however have some news for you. This morning a huge box arrived at our office, which is from my publisher, because within that were the first copies of my book, ‘The Dream Retirement: How to Secure Your Money and Retire Happy’, and I’d like you to have the first copy. Whilst the first half is about the money, you’ll know a lot about that, as that’s what we’ve been doing for you for many years, I’d like you to pay closer attention to the second half, because this is about how you spend your time and improve your wellbeing; and I’d like you to have the first copy.”
Now David was a very special client to me, not just because he’d been a client since right back in the Biggsy days, but also because he’s my Dad. So, my Dad got the first copy of my book, just as he was retiring.

The Dream Retirement led to a bit of a roller-coaster of success for us as a firm. I started being featured on national radio, in the national newspapers, and being asked to share the stage with some internationally renowned speakers. Efficient Portfolio is now known as one of the top financial planning practices in the UK. You don’t need to take my word for it, that’s what The Sunday Telegraph and our top industry magazine New Model Adviser have both said. We have grown new business by 50% in each of 5 of the 6 years, and we are a Chartered firm, which puts us in the top 14% of practices in the UK.

But there is nothing special about me, what is special is that we help our clients at a much deeper level than we have ever been able to before.