Healthy aging advocate and beloved broadcaster Judy Bailey interviewed Peter about how he funds his retirement.

When Peter retired, he wasn’t ready to slow down – he was ready to explore.

After a long and highly specialised career as a cathodic protection engineer, working to prevent corrosion in underground structures, Peter stepped into retirement with a wide range of passions.

From tramping and motorcycle riding to driving as part of a sport car club, learning watercolour painting and even picking up the ukulele, his life is action packed.

But there was one lingering concern.

“I had my own savings,” Peter explains, “but you do the maths and start to wonder how long they’ll last. You think okay I’ve got another 20 good years left of me that I can travel, but I don’t know what comes after that. And I thought maybe there’s a big cost coming, healthwise, or something like that.

That’s when he began noticing something that kept coming up again and again: Heartland Bank.

Curious, Peter explored the idea of a reverse mortgage. He realised that the home he owned outright could provide access to funds, without needing to sell or compromise his lifestyle.

After weighing up his options and reflecting on what he really wanted from retirement, Peter made his decision.

And then he started travelling.

His first big trip took him to the UK, where he hired a campervan and spent three months driving the entire coastline, covering 8,000 kilometres.

From there, the adventures kept coming. Canada to visit a friend. Egypt. Italy. Australia. Each trip added another chapter to a retirement that was quickly becoming everything he had hoped for, and more.

“I’ve been all over the place,” he says. “And it’s thanks to Heartland. It gives me that freedom to not worry. Not can I do it, but I can do it.”

For Peter, the reverse mortgage gave him the confidence to act, to travel, and to make the most of his time while he could.

His advice to others is simple: