It's here - How to have an Epic Retirement is now in bookstores
Come with me and enjoy my exciting week of launching How to Have an Epic Retirement. I'm still pinching myself at the experience.
How to Have an Epic Retirement is finally out there waiting for you to pick up a copy from bookstores and book retailers all over Australia. It’s only the third day in stores and already I’m receiving messages with pictures of people holding up their copies after buying them or having them delivered! What a buzz. (Please keep it up - what fun!)
I’m incredibly proud of the book, having put a lot of hard work into the research that sits behind the six pillar epic retirement framework the book walks people through. It is built on the ten years of experience I had speaking to, surveying and understanding the issues of modern retirees who want more out of life than the generations before them. And it required the review of many scientific papers too.
I want to thank Hachette Australia for bringing the book to life. What a wonderful process it has been.
And I’m positively delighted at the response. The media has been very kind and welcoming this week.
Radio legend Spencer Howsen kicked off the week with a Sunday feature interview on 4BC Weekends. He’d read the book from cover to cover and had several pages of questions to ask me. It was a (wonderful) drilling! listen here
Then Tuesday I chatted with Jo McManus at 6PR in Perth about the steps to take to have a happy retirement. Jo offered her own personally-learned tips for travelling Boomers too.
On Wednesday, The Sydney Morning Herald and the Age published in both print and digital, an extract from the Money Section of How to Have an Epic Retirement. What a dream come true.
The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age ran an extract from How to Have an Epic Retirement on launch day, Wednesday the 26th July 2023 And, on the same day, I did a long interview with 4BC Afternoons radio host Sophie Formica who called it ‘the bible’ for retirement. Sophie has a keen interest in the space of modern ageing, so this is an incredible complement.
Thursday’s big highlight was an appearance on The Today Show - Today Extra, with David and Sylvia sitting in front of the Epic Retirement sunrise that you can see on the book cover - watch here.
And in other shows I don’t have audio from yet, an incredibly fun interview with Nick Healey from ABC Radio Victoria on the Statewide Drive Program last night; a cracker of a talkback conversation with Meech Philpott from ABC Tropical North Breakfast program and a chat with Stan Shaw from ABC Perth Breakfast Show this morning. What a huge delight!
And finally, Better Reading has already published their podcast with Jane Tara, in Be:Better their non-fiction, self-help - enjoy that here.
And I hope there’s plenty more to come - I could talk forever on how to have an epic retirement. There’s so many things people can learn that no doubt will improve their quality of life in retirement. If you want to listen to some of the media interviews, you can find them on my website here.
A huge thanks to you for all your support of the book - it really is wonderful to see the interest in it after all these months of hard work researching it, writing it and putting it together.
You might have noticed I’ve paused the Retirement Diaries podcast for a couple of weeks. It’s just while we launch the book. I’m a bit of a believer in do one thing and do it well! It’ll be back bigger and better than ever in a week or two.
Now, enough of this. Let’s get you some useful tips below to help you have an Epic Retirement. Have a wonderful week. And please, find something to delight in this week and post it in our Facebook Group here. Or comment on the story below.
Make it epic.
Bec Wilson Xx
Get your copy of How to Have an Epic Retirement
How to Have an Epic Retirement is now on sale in almost all major booksellers. Online, you can purchase from both Amazon and Booktopia. And major stores stocking the book include: Big W, Collins, David Jones (some stores), Dymocks. QBD, Target, Newslink (Airports), Relay (Airports), WH Smith (Airports), Bookface (NSW), Harry Hartog (NSW, Qld, SA, ACT), and The Book Warehouse (NSW). There’s also a long list of regional booksellers which you can see on my website here.
How to Have an Epic Retirement is filled with practical information, examples and questions covering the six key pillars of great modern retirement:
Time
Building your financial confidence
Looking after your health
Understanding how happiness is created and finding fulfilment
Living out your travel dreams
Your home and how your needs change in all the different phases of retirement
It’s the first book of its kind to explain in detail how the systems that support a new age and modern retirement in Australia work, making what can be a complex topic seem easy to navigate.
Our super funds won’t help us with retirement, so it’s time to take control
My column in last weekend’s Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and the Brisbane Times seems so long ago now, but it’s on a really important topic.
Australian superannuation funds made a commitment to the regulators last year to look after consumers approaching and in retirement better. It’s called the retirement income covenant… I’m passionate about this space.
Planning for your golden years can be thrilling, but the retirement landscape is changing quickly, and not everyone is keeping up. As more Baby Boomers approach retirement, there is a growing concern that super funds aren’t doing enough to guide Australia’s retiring generation through this exciting but overwhelming phase of life.
Regulators have this week called for urgent action after a scathing review by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, which assessed how super funds are implementing the retirement income covenant. This covenant, set up in 2022, requires superannuation funds to assist members who are close to retiring or have already stopped working to improve their retirements. The report highlights that many Australians are unnecessarily holding back spending on their retirements, potentially leading to a lower living standard than what could be achieved with proper financial planning. It says the Australian community needs better assistance in using their superannuation savings effectively to create a good life in retirement.
APRA deputy chair Margaret Cole emphasises the importance of super funds providing assistance to their members as they plan for a sound financial future. If you’re approaching retirement yourself, you understand how challenging it can be to navigate the complex financial information in both pre- and post-retirement phases.
Unfortunately, many people at this stage of life are unaware that superannuation funds are mandated to help their members achieve good retirement outcomes, which means they might not even realise they are missing out.
So, where does that leave you? If you’re feeling overwhelmed and unsure of where to start, fear not! Let’s tackle this together and kickstart your retirement planning process while also demanding more support from the super fund sector. Here are seven steps to get you started: (more on the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Brisbane Times).
And if you are looking for the Epic Retirement budget template that I refer to in the article, you can download it here.
Make it epic this week
And that’s where I leave you today. Have a wonderful weekend. Welcome to our new readers too - so many wonderful new readers. Don’t forget to forward this to your friends! I am happy to help people prepare for an epic retirement, however I can.
I’m developing an epic pre-retirement education program. If you work at a company that could offer this to your members (ie a superfund or a financial adviser or something else) I’d love to chat. Please, reach out.
And, if you buy the book, please send me your photo! I want to make a wall full of wonderful pictures.
Bec Xx
Congratulations!