Retirement transition coaching
Retirement coaching for accomplished women in their 50s and 60s
Rarified Life offers retirement coaching for accomplished women in their 50s and 60s who are leaving, or have already left, a career that shaped who they are.
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What does a retirement coach do for a woman leaving her career?
A retirement coach helps you plan the life side of retirement: who you are without the title, what you want your days to hold, and how to build the structure that makes it real.
Financial planners handle savings, income, and taxes. Retirement coaches handle identity, purpose, and routine. Rarified Life's retirement coaching is built on Preferment, a research-backed framework for high achievers that treats life after 50 as an active, purpose-driven alternative to traditional retirement. It helps you align future plans with your personal values and cultivate meaningful pursuits beyond your career.
Why accomplished women feel the "What now?" most
When a career has been the center of your life for decades, it does more than pay the bills. It answers the question of who you are. Rarified Life's presentation names what often happens when that answer goes away:
- Introductions start with "I used to" instead of something you are doing now.
- Smart, capable women get months into retirement and stop answering the phone.
- Days fill with errands and appointments rather than pursuits people ask you about.
- The future self you are planning for feels like a stranger.
Rarified Life says its plan works even if your entire identity has been wrapped up in your work, and even if your last day is still years away.
Retirement transition coaching, step by step
Free presentation
See the 5-step plan at no cost and decide whether the approach fits you.
Breakthrough Session
Book a 40-minute call on the Rarified Life calendar if you want to talk through your situation.
Preferment course
Eight weekly live sessions with Anne van Leynseele, the Preferment book, and built-in homework across six modules.
1:1 coaching
Listed by Rarified Life as coming soon. Check rarifiedlife.com for updates.
Who leads Rarified Life retirement coaching?
Anne van Leynseele leads the Preferment course. She built and sold a production company in Los Angeles film and television, advised Fortune 100 companies on digital strategy across three continents, served as an Attorney Advisor in the Obama Administration, and helped write the legal framework for recreational cannabis in Washington State. Today she co-owns an award-winning chocolate farm on the Big Island of Hawaii and wrote the book the course is built on. In Rarified Life's words, she has lived four reinventions and shows you how to run your own.
What a participant said
"I spent a few years wandering around like a goldfish in a bowl. Preferment changed all that! I thought work defined me, but I discovered I am so much more."
Start with the free presentation
Registration is free and gives you instant access to the 5-step plan for accomplished women in their 50s and 60s who are nearing or in retirement.
Common questions
See all 44 questions- What does a retirement coach do?
- A retirement coach helps you plan the non-financial side of retirement: who you will be, how you will spend your time, and what will give your days meaning. Retirement transition coaching usually covers identity, values, routines, relationships, and accountability, rather than investments or benefits.
- Is this retirement coaching only for women?
- The free presentation is specifically for accomplished women in their 50s and 60s. The Preferment course is described more broadly, as a course for driven people who are done treating retirement like an ending. If you are unsure whether it fits you, contact Rarified Life before enrolling.
- What if my whole identity is wrapped up in my work?
- That is the exact situation the presentation addresses. Rarified Life says the plan works even if your entire identity has been wrapped up in your work, and the course's Identity module focuses on separating who you are from what you did for a living.
- Should I wait until I retire to start?
- No. Rarified Life says you can begin without waiting for retirement day and even if your last day at work is years away. Starting early gives you time to test new pursuits and relationships while your work structure is still in place, instead of facing a blank calendar all at once.
- Who is a retirement coach not right for?
- If your urgent need is a budget, a pension decision, Social Security timing, or tax planning, a retirement coach is not the right first call. Those questions belong with a licensed financial professional or your plan provider. Coaching fits best when you want help with purpose, identity, and daily structure.
- Does Rarified Life offer 1:1 retirement coaching?
- Rarified Life lists 1:1 coaching as coming soon. Today its main options are the free presentation, the 8-week Preferment live course, and a 40-minute Breakthrough Session you can book on its calendar. Check rarifiedlife.com for updates on one-to-one coaching.
- Retirement coach vs financial planner: what's the difference?
- A financial planner helps with money: savings, income, investments, and taxes. A retirement coach helps with life: identity, purpose, and structure. Many people benefit from both. Rarified Life's presentation argues that a meeting with a financial planner, on its own, does not prepare you for the rest of your life.