Defining priorities and embracing the unexpected in retirement
On 31 March 2012 I retired from my consultant post at the Royal Free. Twenty-four hours later I was rehired as a locum. Salary was much reduced but because I was then drawing my pension, take home pay had not really changed. I relinquished my administrative duties as chair of the Research Ethics Committee and Clinical Director as well as my on-call commitment. On 14 December 2013 I finally left. A rather sad day. You arrive carrying several cakes, say goodbye to everyone and then leave. You spend 30 years at the hospital but tomorrow you will not return. However, I still had several roles to keep me busy. I was a governor of an independent school, carried out CQC inspections and was a member of a research ethics committee at the Ministry of Defence. These posts still left large gaps in the week but a few days after retirement a colleague rang me as a DGH nearby was looking for an interim clinical director in anaesthetics. It was totally unexpected but what an interesting post it was. I must have done something right because a couple of months after I left another trust contacted me with a similar offer. Their problems were very different, but I think they also got value for money.
This was not really retirement so I will fast-forward to my 70th birthday when I relinquished my licence to practise. I was living with my wife in St Albans. Our two children had left home and were living some distance from us well south of the river and we no longer needed a five-bedroom house. We decided to downsize. We sold our house and moved into a rental in Epsom in Surrey – the county in which I was born. We visited several unsuitable properties and were becoming despondent but one morning my wife woke me at 7:00. She was on Rightmove. “I have found a house” she said. I quickly dressed and went to pick up a grandchild we were looking after that day. We viewed the house at 10.00. My wife went in first while I looked after our grandson. She came out. “Buy it!” she said. I went in. A few minutes later I was back in the car, our only discussion was what we should offer. We rang the agent and offered 5% below asking. The vendor was in a hurry, and we were cash buyers living in a rental. It was perfect. A modernised cottage overlooking a green in Esher. I could see the duckpond from my bed. I initially thought it was a bit small but soon realised it was a perfect size for retirement.
It was now that my wife and I looked at each other. We were overweight. I weighed 107kg. Long days in the operating theatre had taken their toll living on a diet of sandwiches and biscuits. We chose to do 16/8 intermittent fasting. Breakfast at 10.00. Main meal at 16.00. The weight melted away. I am now 87kg and I had to purchase a complete set of new clothes. The key is to do the diet with your partner and weigh yourself every day. I am glad I did lose weight as I needed two hip replacements. I had an opiate free spinal with propofol infusion and after the operation was prescribed paracetamol. Three hours after the operation I walked to the loo. Why, I thought, did I give my patients so much morphine? Going back to the diet, my cholesterol level, which statins were struggling to suppress, fell dramatically to 4.6. We also made sure we availed ourselves of all the “freebies” the NHS provided. Annual blood tests – we were both on statins and anti-hypertensives – AAA screening for me, shingles vaccines, PSA monitoring, bowel cancer screening, mammography. Whatever you think of these screening tests I know of someone whose life has been saved by each of them. My dog also ensures that every day I go out for a long walk. They also make it very easy to stop and have conversations with those you meet on your walk.
One recommendation: get your ears tested; you can do it on your phone. So many people I know are deaf, like me, but cannot admit it. The other day I was interviewing potential medical students in an OSCE type situation with other stations separated by only a screen. Twenty-four interviews in one morning. I could not have managed without my hearing aids with their various settings enabling you to screen out aberrant sound and focus on the person in front of you. Interviewing also keeps my brain sharp, as do hearing aids – they are said to ward off dementia.
We were now in a new phase of our retirement. Time flew by as a series of five grandchildren emerged. There were regular days we looked after them and emergency days when one woke up with a temperature and could not go to school. Then Covid emerged. We had lots of ‘bubbles’ with the children, and we also managed a surprising number of holidays between lockdowns never missing our annual holiday to Crete. Another day we fancied a trip to France. Their Covid app interfaced perfectly with the UK NHS app so off we went. We were one of 12 cars on the P&O Ferry. We had a lovely time. With our children living not far away time sped by. My wife joined the local tennis club and volunteered at the local hospice visiting patients in the community.
Then in 2024 everything changed. My son, an airline pilot, decided to give up his unequal struggle with the English tax system and found a job in Dubai where they do not tax your income. There was no real need for discussion especially as the package included education for his three children in a branch of an English independent school. They have no regrets, and the children love living there. They came back for Christmas but the seven-year-old was heard to say, “Do we have to come back here every Christmas?” As for me and my wife, we benefit from a couple of holidays each year in Dubai with reduced air fares, but we do miss the regular contact with them. As I write this during a very wet January, we are a little bored but looking forward to Dubai next month. I was not alone in this. A friend had two of his children emigrate.
One depressing thought. Is my retirement story relevant to those who follow me? I am a ‘baby-boomer’, and it seems that we pulled the drawbridge up behind us in everything we did. Free education at the school Starmer went to, no university fees and a living allowance. Free board and lodging during our pre-registration period so was able to save a deposit to buy a flat when I became an SHO (CT1). It cost 2x salary and overlooked Battersea Park. We have therefore retired reasonably well-off. Will it be the same in 10 years? Will there still be a state pension? A few years ago, Finland abolished the state pension for those in receipt of an employment or private pension. Will our state even continue to be able to afford index-linked pensions for an increasingly bloated public sector? Some of my friends have factored in downsizing to help fund their retirement but I will never forget 1989 when there was a 25% drop in house prices. I might not have written this paragraph a year ago, but times are changing dramatically. One recommendation is to delay taking your state pension if you are healthy and can afford it. It increases by 10% for every year of deferment and will provide a useful buffer later in retirement.
Finally at 76 years of age, what are our main priorities? The first is to stay slim, fit and healthy. Secondly, we aim to see our children and grandchildren as much as possible. Next, go on as many holidays as we can afford – our friends also seem to have this aim. You do not know how much longer you will be able to climb the aeroplane steps. Finally, keep my brain working, which writing this article is helping me to do. Expect surprise, for example I never thought I would get two more posts after leaving the Royal Free, I found the perfect retirement house on a village green with a duckpond, and my son emigrated.
I hope that you have enjoyed reading about my retirement and that you have learned from it. If you have any questions or comments, you can contact me on [email protected].
Michael Stuart Pegg
Former Consultant, Royal Free Hospital