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Wednesday March 18 2026

By Grace Gausden

Money and Business Editor at The i Paper

Julie Green is about to set off on a 10-week trip interrailing around Europe with her partner at the age of 60.

She admits she’s lucky – having been able to retire early due to a £1m inheritance from her stepmum.

Now, she’s set to embark on the gap year she never had, and feels incredibly grateful.

Julie has wanted to retire early for years. The plan first began when she lost her dad to Parkinson’s disease when he was 78, and then lost her stepmother shortly after that in 2020.

She said: “When my father died, I thought to myself if I retire at 67 then I might only have 11 years left. So, I thought I’m going to go for it and retire at 60 rather than wait till 65, because you don’t know what the future holds – just grab life!”

Julie spent more than 40 years working in the public and voluntary and sectors, and started contributing to a pension as soon as she began working.

“I have been a saver my whole life. I am quite risk-averse and a planner and so I had the mindset of every month saving a little bit for a rainy day,” she explained.

She is receiving £4,000 a year in income from her public-sector defined benefit pension, and took out a £11,000 lump sum from it when she turned 60.

She also has £150,000 saved into an ISA.

“I have always spent within my means, ” Julie said. “I have had a credit card but always try and pay it off. Budgeting and thinking about these sorts of things is always how I have behaved. If I couldn’t afford it, I wouldn’t have it.”

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Nick Mendes, mortgage technical manager at John Charcol, gives his advice to a reader… 

Nick says:
It’s a massive frustration right now, because plenty of buyers feel as though they’ve done everything right and are still being caught out by a moving market.

Over the past couple of weeks, lenders have started repricing and pulling deals again as markets react to the conflict in the Middle East, higher oil prices and renewed pressure on swap rates. That has made mortgage pricing far jumpier, and it means buyers who are still looking for the right property can feel as though the goalposts are shifting while they’re standing still.

Click here to read the full story.

Is the mortgage market turbulence getting you down? Have you got a mortgage-related question you need answering? If you have a question for our experts, email us at money@theipaper.com.

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Santa and Matt like the flexibility of renting and the option to move more regularly (Photo: Santa Benga)

In our How I Manage My Money series we aim to find out how people in the UK are spending, saving and investing money to meet their costs and achieve their goals.

This week, we speak to Santa Benga, 39, and Matt Brown, 46, who live in Plymouth with their dog Max. Santa works in business development, while Matt is a careers advisor. The couple also run a direct-selling business with Swedish beauty brand Oriflame in their spare time.

Their approach to money has improved since they’ve been together. Both have cleared their debts and are actively investing each month. The couple are happy renting and don’t want the burden of buying and paying for the upkeep of a home.

Click here to read the full story.

The state pension is set for another boost because of the triple lock

Retired civil servants given loans worth £2m after being hit by pension delays →

State pension set for £400 boost under triple lock →

The eight pension mistakes to avoid before the tax year ends →

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Author: North London