As we live longer and remain active well into later life, for many, retirement is as much a time for new adventures as it is for slowing down. Cruises, long-haul trips or even skydiving are all commonly among bucket-list plans for older folk.
And an increasing number of retirees are choosing to ‘retire-max’ ahead of their golden years: making proactive decisions to create the lifestyle they want – whether for globe-trotting, having new experiences or gifting money to their children.
Data shows that a lot more retirees have been downsizing to free up money, rather than make sideways moves, says Aneisha Beveridge, head of research at Hamptons. ‘Increased cost of living and higher mortgage rates are likely to factor – especially as rates have increased again,’ she adds.
With mortgage rates now above 5 per cent, and inflation pushing up living costs, figures released by Pensions UK earlier this month have shown that the price you pay for a ‘moderate’ lifestyle equates to approximately £32,700 per year for one retiree, or £45,400 for a ‘comfortable’ one – excluding housing expenses.
That many retirees are adopting a ‘less is more’ approach to their housing and looking for a small, lock-and-go apartment is also directly related to ‘different generational values, tax policy changes – particularly Inheritance Tax (IHT),’ says Steve Bangs, chief executive of Pegasus Homes, a chain of later living communities.
Currently, the maximum combined tax-free allowance a married couple can pass on without triggering IHT is £1million, and releasing equity to distribute to your family needs to be done seven years before death to be clear of IHT.
However, as of April 6, 2027, unused pension funds will be pulled into IHT.
‘People are realising that sitting on the expensive home is going to trigger IHT later down the line,’ says Honor Barratt, chief executive at Birchgrove, a later living rental housing provider.
‘Renting in retirement and distributing funds to their children is a way to get their pot below the £1million threshold,’ she adds.
The proportion of private renters over 65 has risen by a third since 2009, according to the English Housing Survey – with it predicted to rise.
Angela Benns, 79, decided to rent as a flexible option after her husband’s dementia diagnosis
After selling his three-bedroom home in Buckinghamshire for £799,000, Phil Laybourne is now living in a one-bedroom apartment at the Wooburn Bales development by Pegasus
Angela Benns, 79, decided to rent as a flexible option following her husband’s diagnosis with dementia. They moved from the four-bedroom family home in Camberley, Surrey, to a two-bedroom apartment at Birchgrove’s Woodbank Apartments in Woking. Rates start from £999 per week.
‘It was very much the hassle-free option, and I was able to give my three daughters their inheritance early, which is nice as I get to see the benefits.’
She gave her daughters £200,000 each, for a home purchase, a divorce and to pay off a mortgage. ‘It will take me below the £1million IHT threshold.’
Even though her husband has since passed, she loves the security and community of the development with wellness facilities and bar – and especially the greenhouse in the grounds.
‘There is a core of proactive people here, and we go for the local pub for lunch, and we’ve started an informal night in the bar every fortnight.’
While enjoying life in a Thursday Murder Club-style community, she relishes the freedom of knowing she is not tied to a property, yet she won’t get thrown out either, with the recent Renters’ Rights Act providing added reassurance.
Prices at the Vincent development by Pegasus, next to the downs in Bristol, start at £375,000
For Phil Laybourne, a retired printer, downsizing two years ago has opened up a whole new era of Antipodean travel – and allowed him to upgrade his equipment for his wildlife photography hobby.
After selling his three-bedroom detached bungalow in Buckinghamshire for £799,000, he is now living in a one-bedroom apartment at Pegasus’ nearby Wooburn Bales development, costing £425,000, resulting in a ‘nice sum in the bank and a nice lifestyle’.
‘After losing my wife suddenly, and then my new partner too, I didn’t know what to do,’ says Phil, 66, who retired at 60. ‘I had seen Wooburn Bales being built and liked the idea of a lock-up and leave.
‘I was a bit doubtful at first that everyone else was older, but there’s a nice crowd and I can dip into sundowners on a Friday night with my neighbours if I want.’
Whilst one of his daughters, Grace, lives close by, he can now also visit his eldest daughter Steph in Australia every year without worrying about leaving a house empty for three months – and paying Band G council tax for it either. He loves the secure parking at his new property.
‘I’m going to go [to Perth] every winter, travel around and try New Zealand too. I live for today.’
Lynda Cant has opted to ‘retire-max’ too – but girls’ trips to Amsterdam and Brussels are more her bag.
It was after the death of her beloved husband of cancer in 2024 that she ‘needed a new chapter’, and decided to sell the detached four-bedroom family home near Basingstoke for an apartment in Pegasus’ The Vincent development, next to the downs in Bristol (prices from £375,000).
‘One of my daughters lives in Bristol and I’d been to the restaurant at The Vincent and loved the idea of being part of a new community,’ says Lynda, a dynamic 79-year-old former HR director, company owner and RTT therapist – a discipline that blends traditional psychotherapy with other methods such as hypnotherapy and cognitive behavioural therapy.
She’s making the most of the coffee shops and restaurants in nearby Whiteladies Road, as well as going to lots of 50th birthday trips with her old girl gang from Hampshire. She’s booked to go on a cruise later this year, and enjoys being a voluntary career coach at the women’s charity, Smart Works, every week.
Having a healthy-sized pension helps cover the sizeable management costs at a development such as The Vincent, where the £7,637 per annum fee goes towards the upkeep of the gym, spa and club room – for book groups and film nights.
‘I would never have moved here with my husband, but freed up from the responsibility of looking after a large property I can enjoy being a city girl again,’ says Lynda. A proud Londoner, she’s already planning ‘Lynfest’, a big glamping party with live band for her 80th birthday, in August. ‘I feel like I’ve come alive again, I live for every day.’
