I took £200,000 pension lump sum to upsize my home – I only regret not going bigger

While many retirees are downsizing in their 60s – or, at least, thinking about it – Mark Meager has upsized the home he shares with his 11-year-old dog. The 65-year-old, who retired in 2022, was previously a business director in the car industry, and, following a divorce, had lived in a three-storey townhouse on a cul-de-sac in Rustington, West Sussex, for 12 years. “After Covid, I reached a point where I became aware that time was moving on, and several factors prompted me to consider moving,” he says. “Having taken early retirement, I’d built up a sizeable pension pot and was fortunate enough to withdraw 25 per cent tax-free, which led me to start thinking about making one final move.” In April 2023, Mark decided to take his pension lump sum. Mark continued: “I could have put it into investments, but the interest rates were low, so I took out a lump sum and decided to move house. My three boys were saying to downsize, but that’s not me.” Redrow Homes was offering a part exchange option, and, having had three chains fall through and an 18-month process while trying to sell his late parents’ home, Mark saw this as a stress-free option. “They say that things are meant to be and the stars really did line up,” he says. “If neither [the tax-free lump sum or the part exchange option] had happened, I’d still be in the townhouse.” The Redrow team arranged three different valuations of his former home, which Mark owned mortgage-free, and agreed to purchase it for £380,000. Mark used £200,000 from the tax-free lump sum of his final-salary pension scheme to make up the shortfall and buy his new property for £580,000. The new home is a 1,427-square-foot house on the Harvest Rise development in Angmering, West Sussex, with four bedrooms, a good-sized garden and a garage that fits 1.5 cars, an important factor for Mark who owns two cars. He loves that his new build home is a blank canvas and, while he has made one bedroom a study and another a dressing room, he says there’s still plenty of space for when his three-year-old granddaughter comes to stay. “I’ve successfully converted a four-bed into a two-bed,” he jokes, adding: “They could easily be converted back.” The new house also offers much more than his previous townhouse in terms of size. “I like space. It’s at least 25 per cent bigger than my old house and it feels wonderful. I like gardening and I’ve built a shed in the garden,” says Mark. “I have no desire to downsize. I’m retired but I’m still very active. My parents had no aspirations to move down and lived in a five-bedroom house in Horsham with a big garden till they died. I don’t know if that’s been passed onto me.” Mark’s sons understand his decision too. “My boys politely say: ‘Look after our inheritance’.” While there is much talk about retirees downsizing, Mark says it’s rare among his contemporaries: “I only know one other person who has moved into something smaller and that was a flat on the seafront.” He’s not worried about his new home becoming too big for the future either. “If I get a disability, I’ll adapt to it and I’d adapt the house. Even if I have to go down to the shed in a Zimmer frame, I’ll do that,” says Mark. The only regret he has is whether he should have gone even bigger. “I look at the five-bedroom [on the development] and think should I have done that? I like to push myself to the limit. If I had the opportunity, I’d still look at a five-bedroom.” That said, Mark is satisfied with his choice and, even though he only moved in in December 2025, estimates the value of the house has increased by 10 to 15 per cent on the £580,000 he paid. Mark said: “I don’t feel like I’ve lost my investment; I’m definitely happy living here.”