The rise of the part-timer
More people are choosing to ease out of work rather than drop it cold - the best approach in my opinion for a healthy transition process.
In this edition
Feature: The rise of the part-timer
From Bec’s Desk: Stories from London and new books are coming!
SMH/TheAge: Five lessons everyone should learn before they retire
Prime Time: The changes that are coming to the care sector from 1 November 2025
But first - check out our new global Epic Retirement Shop. It’s just launched - in time for Christmas gifting at shop.epicretirement.net.
The rise of the part-timer
Retirement isn’t what it used to be and, frankly, thank goodness for that.
More people are choosing to ease out of work rather than drop it cold - the best approach in my opinion for a healthy transition process. They’re trading five days for three, and finding that the mix of purpose, structure, and extra time is exactly what they need.
Some call it soft retirement, others are finding it better fits the idea of part-timing in your Prime Time, before you call ‘retirement’ part of your life. What it really is, is a concept of part-time retirement - stepping back from work bit by bit. Whatever the name, it’s changing what this stage of life looks like.
Across Australia and the UK, workforce participation rates for people in their 60s are climbing. Some are working because they need the income while they wait for the age pension to kick in at 67. Others because they enjoy it and like the sense of being useful. Many say it’s about staying sharp, connected, feeling like they beling soewhere and having a reason to get up in the morning (besides the dog needing a walk).
And financially, it makes sense. Working part-time in your 60s can:
Ease the pressure on your super. You can draw down less, delay accessing savings, and give your investments more time to grow.
Stretch the transition out so it’s not such a shock. Instead of flipping from full income to none, and full-bore at work, to completely stopped, you create a few years of hybrid earning, learning to grasp passive income alongside active income. You also get to fill your non-working days with purposeful activities that make life feel like it has more meaning.
Keep options open. And, when you go part-time, you can test the waters of retirement before you fully commit, knowing it’s not a full-u-turn back if you aren’t ready for the shift.
It’s a lifestyle shift too. People talk about enjoying the balance: enough work to feel engaged, enough time to walk, travel, see friends, or care for parents or grandkids.
The old question –When will you retire? – really should be replaced by a new one: How do you want to work now? And in my opinion it’s a conversation we should have in our Prime Time and the first stage of retirement too.
And that’s the real story I want all of us to hold onto Retirement isn’t a finish line anymore; it’s a life-re-shaping project. For some, that means full stop. For others, it’s a slower fade, shaped around health, money, and meaning.
If you’re thinking about it, here are a few practical steps:
Do the maths early. Even two or three days of paid work can make a big difference to your super, tax, and cash flow.
Talk to your employer. Many are open to flexible or consulting arrangements, especially if you offer to help train or mentor others. And if they aren’t there’s certainly other industries that need support - maybe not in the same career path but
Plan your new rhythm. The first months can feel strange. Structure your time before it disappears.
Think long-term. Keep contributing to super if you can, and don’t forget the social side – colleagues often double as friends and as you step back, you might want more friends outside work.
The part-time retiree doesn’t have to be undecided or unprepared. They can simply pursue doing what I think modern retirement is meant to allow: choice.
I’ve had such a warm welcome in London this week. I’ve met with teams from many of the UK’s major pension funds, and it’s been fascinating to see how their system is evolving.
While defined contribution (DC) pensions - haven’t been around as long here as they have in Australia, the tools and guidance being developed for people approaching retirement are genuinely impressive and may even be ahead of what I’m seeing back home. Several funds are building smart, user-friendly retirement guidance systems that could really help people make confident decisions about their future. This is something I hope we get more of in Australia in months and years to come. Keep your eye out for your fund doing stuff worth playing with - and remember to be playful on the retirement journey.
On books and columns (and a little news)
It’s been a big few weeks. I’m thrilled to share that the new Australian and New Zealand edition of How to Have an Epic Retirement has just gone to print!
It’s a completely updated and improved version — written specifically for readers in Australia and New Zealand — and it will be released in both countries on 25 November. Not long now.
👉🏻 There’s a cover update too - click the link to see it or pre-order it.
This is the first major update since the book’s original release in 2023, and it represents a significant step forward, with whole new chapters, refreshed insights, new examples, fully updated numbers, and sharper guidance for today’s retirement landscape. I’m absolutely delighted with it — and it’s been an extraordinary amount of work!
And the UK edition isn’t far behind — it goes to print this week and lands in stores on 11 December. Which means that, very soon, I’ll officially be an author in three countries. (Hopefully I’ll be able to add “bestselling” to that line soon!)
👉🏻 We revealed the cover for this book to our UK readers this week - see it on Amazon here
To top it off, I’m also joining The Times in the UK as a columnist, alongside my regular columns in The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. I even had my photo shoot yesterday at News Corp in London Bridge, met the editors, and discussed all the things we could cover — that was fun.
On the Epic Retirement Tick
Back home, it’s been an incredible week. There’s been huge interest in the Epic Retirement Tick — with media coverage right across the trade and general press. Tens of thousands of people have already downloaded the report. So we know you’re learning more about what good is in super from it!
👉🏻 Download the Epic Retirement Tick report here, free.
I’ve been thrilled to see some of the funds that did earn the Tick starting to use it in their media campaigns and promotions already. Keep an eye out – those funds are allowed (and encouraged!) to celebrate their achievement. They’ve earned it. You should start to see it on their ads and billboards.
And also I’ve heard from good sources that a few funds who didn’t get the Tick loved receiving your letters last week asking what they planned to do next (🤭). Apparently my name’s been mentioned in a few meeting rooms – possibly not always in tones of gratitude, but I’ll take that as a polite achievement!
By all reports, we’re making an impact. Funds are re-prioritising their retiring members. They’re asking tougher internal questions about whether they’re doing enough – and that’s exactly what we hoped would happen.
On our Flagship Epic Retirement Course
Our How to Have an Epic Retirement Flagship Course for Spring has come to an end this week, with a terrific bang of our last event on Travel - with Fiona Dalton! It’s always sad to see the cohort complete their program. But then, you start seeing people’s feedback roll in. And the feedback is so nice to read. People completing the course feel more confident, more financially ready, and feel better able to navigate the road ahead into retirement and the choices they have.
Our next course kicks off on 6th November. You can still get 25% off - on the earlybird offer. Not long now. We’re bringing the new edition of How to Have an Epic Retirement the book to life, in the expanded lessons, the new workbook and the new edition of the book.
👉🏻 Download a brochure or book your place here.
Events and activities
Lastly, a few important upcoming activities to draw your eye to this week:
EVENT IN VICTORIA
I’ll be heading to Clyde in Victoria for a speech about the ‘6 pillars of an Epic Retirement’ for Lifestyle Communities. Date: 22nd October 2025 10am-12pm; Location: Lifestyle Communities Riverfield; 25 Concerto Street, Clyde LEARN MORE
HESTA EXCLUSIVE EPIC RETIREMENT COURSE STARTS THIS WEEK
If you’re a HESTA Member. Read on. This week we are kicking off the most wonderful HESTA Exclusive edition of the How to Have an Epic Retirement Course and the first event is almost booked up. If there’s some HESTA members in our community that want to participate, please drop me an email (just hit reply to this email) and I’ll do what I can to get you into the pilot. It starts this Thursday and goes for six weeks.
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Now - I’m headed to Manchester next week. I’m meeting almost all our UK moderators of the Epic Retirement Club in-person for the first time. And then I’m speaking (and learning) at the Pensions UK conference, the biggest UK pension-fund and investment conference on the calendar. Then, a long flight home.
Got something to tell me - just reply to this email - or leave a comment here.
Many thanks! Bec Wilson
Author, podcast host, columnist, retirement educator, and guest speaker
Extract of of my weekly column in The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, Brisbane Times, WA Today on Sunday 11th October 2025.
Five lessons everyone should learn before they retire
If you’ve ever gone looking for retirement advice, you’ll know how repetitive the messages can be. Most so-called experts say the same things.
They’ll tell you that to retire comfortably, you need around $595,000 as a single person or $690,000 as a couple – the national benchmark if you have access to a part age pension.
Others say you’ll automatically spend less in retirement than you do now. “Just cut your budget by 20–30 per cent,” they suggest, and voilà, that’s your retirement budget.
Then there’s the investment advice: as you approach retirement, some will tell you to go more conservative. And lurking underneath all of this is a silent assumption that you’ll stop working entirely, and live only off the income your investments generate, alongside any age pension you are eligible for, for the rest of your life.
But here’s the thing: retirement is so much more than that.
Benchmarks are just broad averages – not your reality. How you’ll spend depends on your lifestyle, priorities, and the stage of life you’re in. Going too conservative with your investments can actually limit your financial flexibility later, especially if you expect you might live a long time.
And those savings you’ve worked hard for? They’re not meant to be locked away forever and passed onto your kids. They’re there to be enjoyed and used meaningfully during what can be the most fulfilling years of your life.
And as for work? Retirement doesn’t have to mean stopping completely. It can simply mean working differently – on your own terms, in ways that energise you rather than exhaust you.
Read on — this article continues in The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald,Brisbane Times and WA Today. It is free to read - you may have to sign up, but there’s no paywall on my articles.
Today we’re talking about the changes coming to the care sector on the 1st of November this year. And structurally, they’re pretty significant.
And when I say care, I don’t just mean aged care. I also mean care in the home. Or, as the new program is called, Support at Home, which is something the government wants all of us to start wrapping our heads around. Because there are only 220,000 aged care beds in this country, and the expectation is shifting. We’re being asked to plan for receiving care at home instead and to fund it ourselves if we’re well off, or rely on subsidies if we’re not.
To help us understand how the care sector is changing, and what we need to plan for, I’m joined by Rachel Lane, one of Australia’s leading experts on aged care, home care, and retirement living. We unpack the upcoming reforms, including what the new Support at Home program will mean, how the costs of care are changing, and why planning early could make all the difference.
LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE OF THE PODCAST HERE:
My partner is easing off, down to 4 days a week plus buying extra leave. Due to life and health issues, I find myself apparently retired early so I'm going to try for part time work next year, wish me luck. Having multiple surgeries this year hasn't allowed me to enjoy a retirement lifestyle and with Nick working, we can't get away as much as we are planning to soon.
Yes. This is us! One working part time to prop up the finances 'til the pension kicks in. The other, pursuing part timecwork because of a passion for "parts of" the profession, with options for flexible times and wirk places beying fulltime permanent work. A much gentler transition.