Retirement: Advice on accessing benefits between 65 and 66

While many people now retire at 66, you can still access State benefits for 12 months if you retire at 65, as John Hearne explains

Planning ahead: While many people now retire at 66, there are supports available to those who choose that 65 is their preferred retirement age. 

These days, most people tend to retire at 66. But what if you want to go a year earlier, at 65? 

The state pension age is 66, so does that mean you’ve got to find some other way of funding your life for those twelve months?