Retirement coaching
Retirement coaching: what a retirement coach actually does
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What does a retirement coach do?
A retirement coach helps you plan the life side of leaving a career: your identity, your purpose, and how you will spend your days, rather than your money.
Retirement coaching, sometimes called life coaching for retirement, fills the gap that financial planning leaves. Rarified Life's Preferment framework is one structured form of it, and its free webinar is a no-cost way to see how it works.
Retirement coaching, defined
Retirement coaching is guided, structured support for the personal transition out of full-time work. A retirement life coach helps you separate who you are from what you did, find what motivates you when a paycheck no longer does, and build routines that turn intentions into a lived week.
It is different from financial advice. A financial planner answers “Can I afford to retire?” A retirement coach answers “What will I do, and who will I be, once I have?” Most people need both, but many only ever get the first.
Signs you might benefit from a retirement coach
- Your answer to “What do you do?” still starts with “I used to.”
- Your days are full of errands and appointments, but they do not feel like yours.
- You have a solid financial plan, but no plan for your time.
- Your identity has been tied to your title, your team, or your results for decades.
- You are still working and want to start the transition before your last day.
How Preferment approaches retirement coaching
Preferment, from Rarified Life, structures coaching as a path rather than a pep talk. The live course runs six modules over 8 weeks: Introduction, Identity, Motivation, Alignment, Accountability, and Launch. Each week builds on the last, with homework built into Anne van Leynseele's book and a 30 day planner that translates wondering into action.
| Free entry point | Preferment webinar, instant access |
|---|---|
| Live course length | 8 weekly live sessions |
| Materials | The book Preferment, with built-in homework |
| Listed course investment | $3,000 (confirm on the course page) |
| Support | Prompt phone customer service; welcome package within 24 hours |
Clients report higher certainty about life satisfaction prior to retiring than other programs. If you are still deciding whether to start before or after your last day, read the guide to retirement transition coaching.
Back to the free retirement coaching webinar overview
Common questions
- What is retirement coaching?
- Retirement coaching is guided support for the personal side of leaving a career: who you are without your job title, what motivates you now, and how you structure your time. A retirement coach focuses on purpose and identity rather than money. The Preferment webinar is one free way to experience this kind of coaching.
- Is a retirement coach the same as a financial planner?
- No. A financial planner helps with money: savings, income, and investments. A retirement coach helps with life: identity, purpose, and how you spend your days. The Preferment webinar argues that meeting only with a financial planner leaves the rest of your life unplanned, and covers what to do instead.
- What is the difference between a life coach and a retirement life coach?
- A general life coach can help with any life area. A retirement life coach focuses on the specific transition out of a career: identity loss, unstructured time, and finding a new mission. Preferment is built entirely around that transition, from its first module to its final Launch module.
- How much does a retirement coach cost?
- Retirement coaching prices vary widely by coach, format, and length. With Rarified Life, you can start at no cost with the free Preferment webinar. The structured 8-week live course is listed at $3,000 on the course page. Compare what is included, such as live sessions, materials, and homework, when weighing any coach.
- Is the Preferment webinar a retirement coaching webinar?
- Yes. The Preferment webinar is a retirement coaching webinar focused on the life side of retirement: identity, purpose, motivation, and how you spend your days. It does not cover investments or pensions. It is the free starting point for Rarified Life's Preferment framework and its 8-week live course.