WHEN Alan McGinty was reassessing his future in his mid-fifties, he knew one thing for sure. He didn’t want to stay in his education job with Warrington borough council until he was 65.

McGinty had a dream of topping his career by becoming a football coach for children. He had already taken the Football Association courses and was coaching youngsters up to the age of 18 as often as he could.

“I had been planning to do this since the 1980s,” he said. “Being with the kids was what I enjoyed most. Although I am single, I knew the income from coaching wouldn’t be enough to live on, so I couldn’t see a way forward.”

So when the offer of retiring on a full pension came in 1999, it was like the answer to his prayers. McGinty, from Fearnhead, near Warrington, who was then aged 53, said: “I jumped at it. I was given half my final salary of about £30,000. It was an offer I could not refuse. I thought it was unlikely ever to be offered again and it wasn’t.

“I have enjoyed every minute of coaching the kids and have no regrets. I know that for me it was the right thing to do.”

From April 6 next month changes to the pensions act will offer workers across the country a new chance to reinvent their futures. From that day, for the first time, employees can begin drawing down their pension while still working.

With average pension provision in the public sector now more generous than in the private sector — which has largely axed final-salary schemes — public-sector workers are particularly likely to seize this chance to be creative in their later years. An added incentive is that the public sector’s favourable pension arrangements may not be around forever.

Martin Bamford, director of the independent financial advice company First Choice, said: “Flexible arrangements for retirement are becoming more frequent. This trend is likely to continue with the changes in the law next month. It will then be possible to begin drawing pension benefits in a mix-and-match fashion while still in part-time employment.

“The terms of early retirement in the public sector may be tightening up but it is still always worth it for an employee to discuss with his or her boss what arrangement might be achieved,” he said.

Staying in the world of work is likely to be the common theme — but many public- sector workers are already achieving this in different ways. These include taking their pensions and seeking further work, negotiating to continue in the job part-time, taking fun, hobby-type jobs or starting their own businesses.

Chris King, aged 53, planned her retirement meticulously. After 17 years as a business- studies lecturer at a further education college in Devon, she decided this was not something she wanted to do five days a week throughout her fifties. She needed new challenges and she was feeling increasingly remote from the 16-to-19-year-olds she was teaching.

“I knew it was difficult to get a new job in your fifties and I had always wanted to run my own business,” said King. “I thought, if I’m going to do it, I’d better do it now. I was thinking of the future.”

Wearing glasses herself, she was appalled that high-street opticians charged up to £300 for replacements. King was sure that if costs were controlled, an internet business could undercut these charges.

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