Are You Ready For The Retirement Rebellion?

Forget carriage clocks and cruises, these modern retirees are living and planning the lives they’ve always wanted

- Marina Gask

‘MY ACCIDENT MADE US RETHINK OUR PRIORITIES’

Tracey Stevens, 55, lives with her husband, Mark, 63, in La Drôme, France

I was chief executive at my local Age Concern in Maidenhead and although I loved my job, I was working all hours. Mark was director of business development. We had bought a holiday home in La Drôme in France and had the idea to buy a bigger place to turn into our family home and a gîte business, so we could earn money to live on in later life.

We were working towards an eventual move away to a less stressful life. Then, in 2013, I had a serious bicycle accident, incurring head and facial injuries. It made us rethink priorities and we realised there was more to life. Although we don’t have conventional pensions, we were lucky to have a bit of capital behind us and decided to refinance and refocus to speed up our move.

The gîte business keeps us busy but leaves time to breathe, do what interests us and see the seasons change. It’s also given us the chance to be surrounded by animals. The donkey sanctuary started when I rescued three donkeys en route to the abattoir – people eat donkey meat round here – and I wanted to give them a home.

Little by little, we rescued or re-homed various animals and now have eight donkeys as well as a dog, three cats, chickens and geese. Some of the donkeys are rare Baudet du Poitou, an ancient breed brought to France by the Romans, which is now at critical risk of extinction. We are really proud to have helped two baby donkeys into the world to help preserve their future.