08 October 2015
Retirement Now
by Lynda Goetz
In this occasional series, Lynda Goetz talks to people from different backgrounds about what retirement means to them. This week she talked to retired investment banker, Kevin Rodgers.
As I arrived in front of a classic blue door in a classic Islington row of elegant white terraced houses, the sound of a vacuum cleaner on the other side led me to expect that a cleaning lady would open it. Instead, following a few moments silence after my knock, I was 
welcomed in out of the torrential rain by a serious looking silver-haired man with heavy black-rimmed glasses. There was no vacuum cleaner in sight. I discovered later that the breadth of Mr Rodgers’ musical taste extended to music which to the uninitiated just sounded like the droning of a household cleaning appliance. “Kevin Rodgers?” I enquired hopefully, wondering if perhaps, against all expectations, this was the home help.
“Yes”, he replied “wasn’t the bell working?” I had to confess that the knocker had been the obvious choice and that I hadn’t noticed the bell. I felt a slight concern that my lack of observation might be counted against me.
Settled in a high-ceilinged room overlooking a very green garden, distinctly decorated with a mix of old and modern paintings, including one eye catching Bosch-like work over the mantelpiece, I set about finding out why this ambitious, high achiever had decided to retire last year at the age of 52. Had he felt ‘burnt out’, as we had been led to believe so often happened to such people, or had he simply become disenchanted with the world of high finance? Neither, it transpired. Kevin Rodgers had decided to take early retirement because he could. The ‘Rule of 60’ operated by his bank means that if your age plus the number of years of service adds up to over 60 then you can retire without any loss of benefits. In that case, I pursued, were there not queues of people lining up to take advantage of the situation? Apparently not, although it seems that he may possibly have started a trend. Most of those leaving the banking world, I learnt, did so because they were shown the door – in the nicest possible way of course. This was quite different.
“I just felt it had all got a bit samey; rather like eating endless steak. After a while you need something else. I needed pudding”. So what, exactly, did pudding consist of?
“Well,” explained Kevin, “when you first start in banking, and it was not the first job I did as my first degree was in chemical engineering, the money changes your life – things like being able to buy a house. After twenty odd years, you don’t need the money, but you do know that time is not something you can get back. Since retiring, over a year ago now, I have been doing a number of 
different things, including writing a non-fiction book; recording with my old band – I play the drums; working with Southgate opera (www.southgateopera.com) and next week I start a Masters in economic history”.
Well, clearly, this is not a man who lets the grass grow under his feet and his idea of ‘retirement’ may not appeal to everybody. On the other hand, if we are all to live into our nineties, the idea of endless rounds of golf, bowls or whatever may well get somewhat tedious.
I wondered how his wife had reacted to his decision. He laughed. “My wife, Niki, is a writing agent – business writing. She runs her own business. She is also doing a part-time Masters in psychology. She told me she married me because she liked being with me, so she welcomed the chance to spend more time together. We actually manage to have lunch at least once a week these days, which is great.” What about children? Kevin and Niki have three boys, aged nearly 20, 16 and 11. Kevin is pleased to have more time to spend with them. When he was with the bank he was frequently away on business. He now relishes the lack of an externally-imposed structure and the randomness of his life. On most days he picks the 11-year-old up from school. The boys have already been warned that they are expected to earn their own money, as their parents are planning on a busy and fulfilling retirement.
So far, none of the boys seem keen to go into investment banking. Indeed the middle one appears to have inherited his father’s talent, not for maths, but for drama, and is keen to pursue a career in acting. I wondered if any of this had to do with the fact that banking was no longer as lucrative as it once was. “I think it is less fun than it used to be”, replies Kevin. “It has become more computerised and more impersonal. I think it is a terrible idea to go into it just because it is viewed as well-paid. That is a bonus. I loved it. As far as I was concerned it was purpose-built for people like me. It was a brilliant job. I wanted to live in London. I made good friends. I was very fortunate.”
I was interested to know if he felt the need to ’put something back’ or whether volunteering was not part of Kevin’s plans for retirement. He hesitated. For a man so clearly sure of his talents, he seemed unsure what he could offer the charitable world. He admitted to being ‘energetic and bossy’ but was not sure he had any particular skills to offer. I suggested his financial skills would surely be welcome in all sorts of fields. He shrugged this off, but admitted that he always used to do some sort of volunteer work. He felt however, that for the time being at least, his timetable did not really leave him available for such duties. With his book out next summer and the Masters to be finalised around the same time, not to mention the recording he was doing with the band and the commitments to the Southgate Opera group, he did not really see that there would be time for much else.
Southgate Opera is a pro/am (professional and amateur) group which does two major performances a year, usually an operetta in the 
winter and a ‘Grand Opera’ in the summer. Actual rehearsal time is of course only the tip of the iceberg with this sort of commitment. Sometimes days can be spent memorising speeches and songs, depending, of course, on how major one’s role is. Music has always been a part of Kevin’s life, but he came to singing late, around ten years before retirement. In 2004 he started singing lessons and so impressed his teacher, a lady called Zoe, well-known apparently in his area of North London, that she persuaded him to take exams and train seriously. In 2011, still a high flying member of the banking community, he gained his third degree, (well, technically a diploma, but it does give you letters after your name) a licentiate from Trinity College, London in singing. (The second, in case you were wondering, was that qualification so beloved of those in the business and financial world, an MBA). Opera is now firmly entrenched as part of this retiree’s life and he envisages plenty of opportunity to indulge this late-flowering passion.
Kevin Rodgers may have left the world of banking and may technically be retired, but he certainly has plenty to get up for in the mornings. This man’s natural drive and ambition have not been left behind in the world of work. He is, as he freely admits, very fortunate to be in a position to indulge his interests and to continue with a number of projects. Did it matter to him I wondered whether these are paid or not? By way of response he referred me to and then showed me on his iPad, a clip on Youtube – Harlan Ellison – Pay the Writer. This is an interesting rant by another man who clearly knows his own worth.
Kevin Rodgers is, I suspect, not really retired, in the sense that most people would understand it; just pursuing a more uncertain path than the one he pursued for twenty-four years in the world of banking. Is this the world of retirement of the future or merely a path that only the driven and talented few can follow?
Before I left I was unable to resist asking about the ornately framed picture which dominated the room. I didn’t just learn about the picture. I learnt just a little more about the man who I had been talking to for the last hour and I discovered another of his interests. He is definitely one of the lucky ones, but how much do we make our own luck?
