A FORMER Elland Grammar School student has unveiled her secrets for a successful retirement.

And she should know – Lin Ashurst has won national awards for her financial advice.

Lin is a former student at Elland Grammar School – now The Brooksbank School – and also at Huddersfield Technical College. She has now written a 200-page guide to the secrets of a successful retirement.

Talking About Retirement, highlights issues such as relationships, health and developing new interests and money matters.

She said: “Of course money is a crucial issue for retirees, especially in the current credit crunch.

“But when I started writing the book I realised that it had to be more than just sums. Filling the time, health and adjusting to living with your partner full-time are also very important.”

Lin interviewed 31 people facing retirement for the book.

The book looks at hopes, fears and the reality of retirement.

It also has chapters on how to keep fit and financial planning. It ends with the retirement code and looks at 80 issues raised by interviewees, offering practical advice to help ease them through any problems.

Actor Tony Robinson has been advised by Lin for 20 years. He wrote the forward for the book.

He wrote: “Because of Lin’s advice, I am pretty sure that at the age of 80 I’ll have sufficient income to be able to fly to the Seychelles, buy a Harley Davidson, lean the tenor sax and open a dive shop.”

Lin is currently the head of practice development at Paradigm Norton Financial Planning, Ham Green, Bristol. She is the former Female Independent Financial Advisor (IFA) of the Year and a regular commentator in the financial press and radio.

She previously worked for six years in the personnel department at David Brown Gear Systems at Lockwood. She has a home in Jagger Green.

When she was named the UK’s top female adviser, she became one of a growing army of female financial advisers forcing their way into the profession, advising both sexes in equal measure.

She triumphed over of a field of 70 women who entered the awards, coming out on top at the end of a tough selection procedure which tested candidates’ skills through a series of technical exams, interviews and written submissions.

She said: “People feel about female IFAs in the same way they feel about female GPs. Both men and women feel they can let down their guard”.

Talking About Retirement is published by Kogan Pages at £12.99.