The Next Bit Podcast
Ageing isn’t overwhelming. It’s just the next bit.
Real NZ stories, expert advice and practical tools to help you — and the people you love — stay confident, independent and informed as you age.
Hosted by Hannah McQueen, with new episodes every week, The Next Bit is a podcast designed to help New Zealanders learn how to age well and support their whānau with clarity.
Whether you’re planning your own next chapter, supporting ageing parents, or simply wanting to stay independent for as long as possible, you’re in the right place.
https://www.thenextbitpod.com
All Episodes
Choose Your Hard: Professor Grant Schofield on Taking Back Control of Your Health
In this episode of The Next Bit Podcast, I sit down with Professor Grant Schofield, a leading voice in health and nutrition, to discuss his philosophy from his latest book, "Choose Your Hard." Grant emphasizes that every path in life comes with challenges, especially regarding our health. He argues for taking proactive control over our well-being by making informed choices today to avoid the hardships of poor health later in life. We explore the importance of health span over lifespan, debunk common nutrition myths, and discuss practical strategies for enhancing health, including diet, exercise, and sleep. This conversation is a must-listen for anyone seeking to reclaim their health and vitality.Enduring Power of Attorney: The Document Everyone Delays (And What It Costs You)
Most people treat their enduring power of attorney as an afterthought to their will — if they think about it at all. Brendan Reidy, branch manager at Perpetual Guardian, has spent his career sitting across the table from families who didn't. In this episode, Brendan breaks down the two types of EPA — property, and personal care and welfare — and why so many people agree to act as someone's attorney without understanding what they're actually signing up for. We get into what happens when there's no EPA in place (think family court, six-month waits, and legal bills running into the thousands), the real liability an attorney carries if a sibling later challenges their decisions, and a case that shows how badly things can go when the role is left to chance: an elderly woman kept out of the care she needed, $50,000 unaccounted for, and a family blindsided by what they didn't know to ask. We also talk about the parts nobody warns you about — the unpaid, unglamorous hours of managing someone else's whole financial life, why attorneys can be personally challenged by an estate years later, and how a well-drafted document can protect both the person acting and the person they're acting for. If you've ever agreed to be someone's attorney without quite knowing what that meant, or you're the parent who hasn't gotten around to setting it up yet, this one's for you. The Next Bit Host is: Hannah McQueen - Founder of Brightly Guest: Brendan Reidy, Branch Manage at Perpetual Guardian Join our community! We love to hear your feedback and questions. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenextbitpodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61584248556816 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thenextbitpodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheNextBitPodcast Credits Director, Executive Producer & Editor: Arama Murray from Mention Direction Podcast Creator, Executive Producer & Host: Hannah McQueen Research & Production: Shelley Smith Additional Support: Billy McQueenSunset Exits: The Truth About Ageism at Work (with Lisa Oakley)
If your role disappeared tomorrow, would it really be a redundancy, or something else wearing a redundancy costume? Lisa Oakley is an HR and employment relations specialist who gets called in when things get curly: restructures, disciplinary processes, collective bargaining, exits. She calls these conversations sunset exits, and by her own account, she runs a handful of them every week, often with people who've given 20 or 30 years to the same organisation. In this episode, Lisa gets refreshingly direct about what's really happening when someone hears "not a cultural fit," "stopped being agile," or "we want fresh energy." Her argument isn't that ageism doesn't exist. It's that it almost never announces itself. We talk about: + Why relevance and experience aren't the same thing, and why that distinction matters more every year + Lisa's concept of RQ (relevance quotient), and the six pillars of her "relevance blueprint": learning, network, confidence, brand, exit planning and resilience + The My Kitchen Rules analogy that reframes how promotions and restructures actually get decided + "Change the people, or change the people": the phrase change managers use when adaptation isn't optional + Why a plan B (or C, or D) matters more in a job market that no longer guarantees a role for life + How to interpret AI-driven change as opportunity rather than threat, and what that mindset shift actually looks like in practice This one is direct, a little bit brutal, and genuinely useful if you're in your 50s, 60s or beyond and wondering how secure your role really is. This conversation is also why we built Age Brightly. Our whole-of-person baseline assessment looks at the factors that keep you cognitively strong and resilient for longer, so you're protecting more than just your career. The Next Bit Host is: Hannah McQueen - Founder of Brightly Guest: Lisa Oakley, Director of People Associates Join our community! We love to hear your feedback and questions. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenextbitpodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61584248556816 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thenextbitpodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheNextBitPodcast Credits Director, Executive Producer & Editor: Arama Murray from Mention Direction Podcast Creator, Executive Producer & Host: Hannah McQueen Research & Production: Shelley Smith Additional Support: Billy McQueenDie Without One, Lose Control of Everything
Most people assume their will just carries on no matter what happens in life. It doesn't. Getting remarried cancels it outright. And if you die before making a new one, the law decides who gets what, not you. In this episode, Brendan Reidy, branch manager at Perpetual Guardian, takes us inside the estate planning conversations he has every day: sometimes calm, sometimes in the middle of a dispute that's already gone too far. We cover: • Why marriage revokes a will but divorce doesn't • What actually happens when someone dies intestate (without a will), and how long it can take to sort out • The real story of two brothers — a surgeon and an electrician — and the family conversation that headed off a painful surprise • Why the costliest fights in estates are so often about sentimental items, not money • How to challenge a will if you've been left out, and how long you have to do it • What testamentary capacity means, and why it matters for elderly parents making or changing a will If you've been putting off sorting your own will, or your parents', this conversation is the nudge to finally have that talk. If this episode has you thinking about a parent's decision-making and whether it's as sharp as it used to be, Brightly's Baseline+ assessment gives your family a clear, evidence-based picture of cognitive health, so the hard conversations happen with facts, not guesswork. Learn more at agebrightly.co.nz. The Next Bit Host is: Hannah McQueen - Founder of Brightly Guest: Brendan Reidy, Branch Manager at Perpetual Guardian Join our community! We love to hear your feedback and questions. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenextbitpodcast/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61584248556816 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thenextbitpodcast YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheNextBitPodcast Credits Director, Executive Producer & Editor: Arama Murray from Mention Direction Podcast Creator, Executive Producer & Host: Hannah McQueen Research & Production: Shelley Smith Additional Support: Billy McQueen