Published on: Wednesday, February 26, 2025
Clients of mine recently took a trip to Ireland. They are 78 years old and they rented a car so that they had the freedom to see the countryside and carry out the itinerary at their own pace and in their own way.
Since they were over 75, they needed to produce the following to rent the car:
- A letter from their insurance company in Canada stating that they were insured, that their policy was up to date and that they hadn’t had any accidents or made any claims in the past 3 years.
- A letter from their doctor stating that they were in good health.
Turns out, it’s not just Ireland but many other countries too, from what a quick internet search turned up. Here is a sample of countries and the ages at which you may face additional requirements and/or additional costs, if they’ll rent to you at all. The requirements, terms and conditions can vary among rental companies. This is for discussion purposes. Check with the agency in the country you plan to visit.
Age 70 Croatia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey, Bulgaria
Age 75 Greece, New Zealand
Age 80 Portugal
Age 85 Hungary
No worries If you are past these ages. There is still Finland where you are fine until age 97.
As a Portfolio Manager and a planner, two things come to mind.
First, this is another reason to do more sooner. People often think about travelling early in retirement because they are concerned about their health and what they will be capable of. Well, now you also need to consider what other people think you’re capable of.
The second thought is about how we use our money. I often have discussions with people about using the money they’ve saved to give them the life they want. For example, an aging person who wants to stay in her home but who is having trouble with maintenance might consider paying someone to clean, mow the lawn or shovel snow.
If the ideal trip involves renting a car and that is not possible, think about how you can allocate resources to try to overcome this barrier. Sure, you could take a guided bus tour. But I was thinking more along the lines of hiring a driver. Sure, that might cost a lot. The clients in this story said they would do it. And if it started to squeeze their travel budget, they’d take fewer trips. In their mind, it was better to travel less but do it their way rather than give up a lot of freedom or not take the trip at all.
The point of this goes beyond renting cars and travel. The point is about broadening your thinking about money as an enabler. We often talk about how money creates problems. That can be true. But it can solve problems too. People tend to have the greatest amount of money at their disposal later in life. And aging puts a lot of challenges in their way.
Hiring a driver for a week might feel awkward or extravagant to some people, But I bet in the whole scheme of things, spending money on something like that once or twice late in life to maximize the enjoyment of a trip will barely make a difference in a person’s net worth. Think of it this way, in most cases, it will make the value of their estate a couple thousand dollars less. It might not make a difference at all.
In the end, a person might still choose not to do something like that and that’s ok. It’s their money. Their priorities. Their value system.
As an advisor, I don’t try to persuade them. I just try to give them something to think about and back it up with numbers that show them it can work financially. If I can get people to use their money to get the most out of life, it’s been a good day’s work.