Retiring with ease

There are a lot of people out there keen to sell you a pension, but a happy retirement isn't just about the money. David Wells, who runs retirement seminars for BMA Services, has some advice for those about to enter their third age

For those of us who were unsuccessful in constructing a portfolio career(1) - because they had yet to be invented - there are several aspects of retirement that are worth considering before the event. Let's start with those things we may be looking forward to leaving behind as we retire.

Overwork is an obvious one, but could it be that we approve of the Protestant work ethic, and like to feel a little indispensable? I spent 30 indispensable years in practice, but apart from one old lady who I'm sure died of a broken heart the practice continued to flourish after my early retirement.

As busy people there is great pressure to substitute quantity for quality. Many of us developed the five minute conversation in practice, to find it spilling over into our private lives. Since I started travelling by bike rather than open topped Herald I now have the opportunity to stop and talk, rather than just waving as I go by. There really is time, and I enjoy it.

All our lives have been blighted by those awful managers and bureaucrats - but is our main objection to them centred around our own enjoyment of organising other people's affairs? We long to leave behind all the pressures and stresses of work - but does it not also allow us to show how well we are able to cope under circumstances that would devastate lesser mortals?

Keeping abreast of developments in our own field can be a real drag - but having had to exercise our …