Mr. Declan Lawlor:

We did some research just before the Covid pandemic involving people coming up to retirement. If we google the words "retirement planning", the results tend to link to financial and pension websites. One of the points we emphasise in our programme is that there is more to retirement than just money. The money is important but there is more to retirement than that. It is about the whole question of who people will be after they retire and what will be their identity. We all invest 40-plus years in the identity associated with our occupation. Suddenly, at 65 or whatever age, that identity is taken away from us.

I use the phrase "cliff edge" regularly because retirement is a cliff event for most people. One of the reasons we try to encourage people to take our courses is to get them to accept it will be a cliff edge, whether they retire at 65, 66 or 67. They might be able to move to working three or four days a week before retirement, which could be a great approach for employees but may present difficulties for some employers to manage. For most people, however, retirement is a cliff edge. It should not be a surprise for people who are coming up to age 65 but we are always surprised that it is such for many people on our programmes. When I ask participants when they are planning to retire, they will say they are not due to retire until the beginning of June. When I ask whether it is June this year or next, they say it is this year and I will point out that is only two months away. They will say they had not looked at it that way. Retirement should not be a surprise but, in effect, it is a cliff event for most people.