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John Higgins

January 20, 2020
John Higgins
In Healthy Living

Healthy Ireland and Life Expectancy

Healthy Living

The Healthy Ireland policy document entitled Framework for Improved Health and Wellbeing 2013 -2015 is the government’s plan to improve the health and wellbeing of the nation. So how are we faring mid-way through the lifetime of the plan?

The mid-term report entitled Health in Ireland: Key Trends (2017) revealed that 70% of men and 57% of women are overweight or obese. This also reflects the lack of a personal physical exercise regime whereby only 46% of men and 62% of women are termed “physically active”. All of this reflects significantly on our birth to death life expectancy ratio.

Between 2007 and 2017 the following increases in Life Expectancy are recorded: Continue Reading

January 16, 2020
John Higgins
In Retirement Planning

Emotional Preparation for Retirement Life: Identity Issues

Perhaps no other stage of life triggers such intense feelings of excitement and liberation, on the one hand, but, on the other, fear and anxiety. Retirement for many entails a leap of faith after decades of routine. You’re not simply at work Friday, doing your job, and retired Monday, dancing for joy. Retirement is a major transition that unfolds over many years, as we move from the life we know, into the life we will get to know.

Most people don’t realise that psychological and emotional readiness is as important as all the concerns about financial issues in retirement. I have personally witnessed attendees on arrival for a course to ask me “are you the pension’s man”; in other words: I am here to hear about my pension; about money issues and that is all that concerns me so just tell me about how I’m going to survive financially. By the time our course is over attendees realise that while money issues are important, there is a whole lot more to consider about an emotional ‘glide path’ into a life in retirement. So our key message is Continue Reading