"This event has been extremely valuable. It has given me a lot of food for thought. I'm glad I did it a few years before retirement"

Sheffield College Delegate

Our speakers include:

Malcolm Simpson MBE:

Malcolm worked for the Department of Social Security for over 30 years, the last 12 years having been spent working as a publicity and information officer in Yorkshire., the last 6 years primarily in the Leeds area.
In this time, Malcolm dealt extensively with the press and radio and lectured regularly, not only in Yorkshire but all over the country, on over 20 of the 30 plus benefits.

A specialty has been lecturing and advising groups taking early retirement or redundancy. In 1993 he was awarded a commendation by Downing Street in a civil service-wide competition in recognition of work in customer services.

This was followed in I994 by an M.B.E. He has been a self employed consultant since 1996.

Dr. Andrew Manasse MRCP, MRCGP Retired General Practitioner:

After qualifying in 1961, Andrew spent 7 years in hospital medicine before starting in General Practice in 1968. He remained as a GP until 1993, retired early and then, after a short gap, worked for 9 years in the Cavendish Centre which is a charitable organisation offering support, including complementary therapies, to people with cancer and to their families. He retired from this in mid 2004.

He has always had an interest in complementary medicine and trained to use homeopathy in his general practice,
Throughout his career he has taken part in, and enjoyed, teaching - medical students, nurses and postgraduate doctors, both about general practice and, more recently, about complementary medicine.

He is now more or less fully retired and looking forward to teaching about health related issues that arise in relation to retirement.

Hilary Hickman:

Hilary is a recently retired RGN. The past few years she has been dealing with women’s health, ranging from the young in Youth Clinics, to menopause problems. She is still employed as a Complementary Therapist with the South East Primary Care Trust where she offers these services in Menopause/PMS clinics. She has a special interest in relaxation techniques & nutritional lifestyle advice.

Clive Smith ACIB:

Clive worked in the banking industry for over 30 years. For a period he was Regional Manager responsible for electronic banking services and from here grew his interest in personal computing. Heis now retired having worked as a Consultant for 2 days a week for the previous 3 years, with one of the major UK banks. Has provided input to our courses for a number of years now.

Clive’s wife Carol runs a small IT business (she produced this website for us) from where Clive has gained considerable additional knowledge. He is able to provide a ‘taster’ for those new to the subject of personal computing and some helpful tips for those already more experienced.

From I² Retirement & Financial Planning Ltd:

Mrs Amanda Mellors MLIA (dip)

Mr Alan Flinders MLIA (dip)

I² Retirement & Financial Planning Ltd: have been talking on the Pre – Retirement and Mid Life Seminars for Prep over the last 17 years.

They are an established firm of Independent Financial Advisers (IFA's) whose specialist consultants have over 40 years experience in providing quality advice.

They are totally independent of any Bank, Building Society, Insurance Company or Investment Manager and are committed to providing their clients with truly unbiased advice. Their advice is supported by market leading research software, which enables them to work on a strictly ‘Best Advice’ basis. They will combine all relevant facts about a clients current situation before making any recommendations.

Their clients are individuals looking to maximise their finances, coming up to or who are in retirement.
The hallmark of the firm is the attention to detail. Their clients demand, and deserve the highest standards of integrity, discretion and professionalism. An expectation I² Retirement & Financial Planning Ltd are committed to fulfilling.

I² Retirement & Financial Planning Ltd has their Head Office centrally located in South Yorkshire within easy reach of motorway, rail and tram connections to the North and South of the country.

From Keeble Hawson Solicitors:

George Connell LLB

Michele Todd LLB

George Connell and Michele Todd head up the Private Client Department of Sheffield city centre law firm Keeble Hawson. They are members of The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and The Law Society's Probate Section and act as Panel Receivers on behalf of The Public Guardianship Office.

The specialisms of the Department include will and trust drafting, capital tax mitigation, administration of estates, the drafting and administration of Enduring Powers of Attorney and Receivership work. They are increasingly asked to advise on and assist with aspects of continuing care for the elderly.

George and Michele have been lecturing on PREP courses for a number of years now and as a result of the demand for advice in these areas the length of the presentation has doubled. It is very much led by group participation and all members are encouraged to ask questions and give examples of their own experiences.

Eamonn Larkin - Crime Reduction and Community Safety Consultant.

Eamonn retired from the South Yorkshire Police at the beginning of 2007, where he had served for 30 years. His last posting was as Sheffield City centre crime reduction officer.

Eamonn now works as a security consultant in Sheffield and lectures in crime reduction and community safety for organisations across South Yorkshire.

The Director of PREP, Lorraine Howie, is the main facilitator for these events and will be present for the duration of the seminar.

Lorraine has been a Director of PREP for the last 5 years. She follows in the footsteps of Brenda Barker, who originally set up the company 24 years ago.

Previously Lorraine worked as a Training & Development Manager for a major UK Bank, but left after 27 years to take up the new challenge of running this successful consultancy.

PREP has been a leader in its field for some time and over the 5 years that Lorraine has been with them, she has endeavoured to take the company forward without making too many alterations to what is a winning formula. The changing aspirations and needs of the delegates have been her focus, so she has aimed to enhance the existing talks and add new ones.

Her priority is always her customers, therefore, she is more than happy to listen to their suggestions and build an event to meet their needs.

Jane Blythe - Seminar Manager

Joined the company at the beginning of October 2007 to enhance an already successful and thriving team.

Having worked in the world of finance for over 25 years, Jane has recently enjoyed 4 years of going back to school helping children.

Jane is now looking forward to a new challenge with PREP but most importantly helping to provide people with a new gateway to their retirement planning.