FAQLast updated: November 2026
Here are 45 common retirement coaching questions, answered by Rarified Life, starting with what retirement coaching is and ending with how to get started.
“What is retirement coaching?” is the question we hear most. It is guided support for the non-financial side of leaving a career, and Rarified Life offers it through the Preferment framework. The full answer, and dozens more, follow below. For a fuller introduction, see our page on retirement coaching.
Retirement coaching is guided support for the non-financial side of leaving a career: identity, purpose, structure and relationships. Rarified Life offers it through Preferment, a framework that helps accomplished women in their 50s and 60s align their next chapter with their values and build meaningful pursuits beyond work, instead of treating retirement as an ending.
A retirement coach helps you work out who you are and what you want once your career no longer sets the agenda. Typical work covers identity, motivation, values, daily structure and accountability. In the Preferment course, Anne van Leynseele leads these topics across eight weekly live sessions built on her book, with homework between sessions.
Mostly, yes. People search for a "life coach for retirement" or a "retirement life coach" when they want the same kind of help: a coach focused on purpose and identity as they move out of work. Rarified Life’s Preferment course sits in this category, with a specific focus on accomplished women in their 50s and 60s.
Retirement transition coaching supports the period before and after your last day of work, when routines, titles and daily contact with colleagues change at once. Rarified Life’s free presentation says you can begin this work even if your last day is still years away, and the Preferment course gives the process eight structured weeks.
Preferment is Rarified Life’s framework, described by the business as a research-backed approach for high achievers to redesign life after 50 as an active, purpose-driven alternative to traditional retirement. It helps people align future plans with personal values. The course page describes treating this chapter like an ascension rather than an ending.
It depends on what feels hardest. If money is settled but your days feel empty, or your identity was wrapped up in your job, coaching works on exactly that. lifecoachingcertification.net summarizes a meta-analysis finding 28% of retirees experience depression, a sign the emotional side deserves attention. Coaching is not therapy or medical care.
Many people lose structure, identity and social contact at the same time. Rarified Life’s free presentation describes smart, capable women who get eight months into retirement and stop answering the phone. Common struggles include answering "So, what do you do?", filling days with errands and appointments, and losing the sense of being needed.
Prices vary widely. lifecoachingcertification.net reports retirement coaches typically charge $150 to $300 per session. AARP quotes an expert saying rates run from $125 to $150 an hour up to $800 to $1,000 an hour in major cities like Boston, Miami or San Francisco. Rarified Life’s 8-week Preferment course has its own published price.
The Preferment course page describes the investment as $3,000 for eight weekly live sessions with Anne, the book, and the guided homework. The same store page also displays a listed price of $6,000.00, so confirm the current price on the course page or contact Rarified Life before you enroll.
The course includes eight weekly live sessions with Anne van Leynseele, the book Preferment as your companion text and workbook, and homework exercises built into the book that you complete between sessions. Each week builds on the last, moving through six modules from Introduction to Launch.
The six modules are Introduction, Identity, Motivation, Alignment, Accountability and Launch. They move from understanding where you are now, to separating who you are from what you did, to finding what moves you, matching values to daily life, building structure, and naming your mission for the next chapter.
Yes. Rarified Life offers a free presentation for accomplished women in their 50s and 60s who are nearing or in retirement. It outlines a 5-step plan for replacing the "What now?" dread of retirement. You register and watch it on the Rarified Life registration page, with no purchase required to view it.
Rarified Life lists 1:1 coaching as coming soon. Today the main offers are the free presentation and the 8-week Preferment live course. The business also lists a 40-minute Breakthrough Session on its booking calendar. For the latest on private coaching availability, contact Rarified Life directly through its contact page.
Sometimes. AARP describes one coach who charges a flat fee of $3,600 for six months, and another who offers a couple of sessions at around $150 each. Package pricing makes the total cost predictable. A structured course like Preferment gives a fixed number of live sessions for one stated price.
You meet Anne van Leynseele live once a week for eight weeks. Each session works through her book Preferment chapter by chapter, and between sessions you complete the exercises built into the book. The course follows a structured path in which each week builds on the one before it.
The course is described as live: eight weekly live sessions with Anne. The free presentation, by contrast, is a training you watch from the registration page whenever it suits you. For details on session times, delivery format or what happens if you miss a week, contact Rarified Life before enrolling.
Plan for one live session per week plus the homework in the book. Rarified Life describes the exercises as real work rather than busywork, done between sessions. The exact length of each session is not published on this site, so ask Rarified Life for the current schedule before you enroll.
The free presentation outlines a 5-step plan smart women in their 50s and 60s use to replace the "What now?" dread of retirement. It covers having a real answer to "So, what do you do?", understanding why capable women withdraw after retiring, and pinpointing what your future self really wants.
No. The free presentation says you can do this work even if your last day at work is still years away, and even if you are still working full time. Starting early gives you room to test new pursuits and build relationships outside work before your career ends.
No. The Preferment course page says it directly: you do not need a five-year plan, you just need a room to start figuring it out in. The course is designed to help you form the plan, through modules on identity, motivation, alignment and accountability.
Rarified Life is for accomplished women in their 50s and 60s who are nearing or in retirement, especially those whose identity has been wrapped up in their work. The broader Preferment framework is designed for high achievers redesigning life after 50 who want an active, purpose-driven alternative to traditional retirement.
No title is required. Preferment is designed for driven people and high achievers, and the free presentation speaks to accomplished women in their 50s and 60s. What matters is that your work shaped your identity and that you want your next chapter to be purposeful rather than passive.
Anne van Leynseele is the founder of Rarified Life and author of the book Preferment. She built and sold a Los Angeles film and television production company, advised Fortune 100 companies on digital strategy across three continents, served as an Attorney Advisor in the Obama Administration, and co-owns an award-winning chocolate farm on Hawaii’s Big Island.
The free presentation is designed for accomplished women in their 50s and 60s. The Preferment course page speaks to driven people more broadly. If you are outside the presentation’s audience, contact Rarified Life to ask whether the course is a good fit for you before enrolling.
If your main question is how much money you need or how to draw income, a financial planner or advisor is the right first call. If you are dealing with depression or another health concern, see a licensed clinician. Coaching complements those professionals; it does not replace them.
Yes, coaching can help with any exit, planned or not, because the identity and structure questions are similar. A study published on PMC found that around half of the people it followed had fully retired at follow-up, either voluntarily or involuntarily. Rarified Life’s offers focus on designing what comes next.
A financial advisor plans the money; a retirement coach works on how you will spend your time and who you will be. Many people need both. Rarified Life focuses on the non-financial side, meaning identity, motivation, values and daily structure, through the Preferment framework and its 8-week course.
Each suits different people. One-on-one coaching is fully tailored and paced to you. A structured course like Preferment gives a defined path, a book with exercises, and a fixed eight-week timeline. Rarified Life currently offers the course, with 1:1 coaching listed as coming soon on its website.
Coach directories let you search for retirement coaches and filter by location and specialization. Location may matter less than fit, so ask any coach how sessions are delivered. Rarified Life lists Edmonds, Washington, and Captain Cook, Hawaii; contact the business to ask how its live course sessions work for you.
The phrase usually refers to a coach who completed a retirement coaching certification program, and requirements vary by program. Ask any coach which program they completed and what it covered. Rarified Life’s Preferment course is led by founder Anne van Leynseele, whose background spans media, strategy, law and agriculture.
Some people do, with reading, journaling and conversations with friends. Structure is the usual missing piece: without deadlines or a guide, intentions drift. The Preferment course adds weekly live sessions and an Accountability module designed to turn intention into a lived routine you actually keep.
Common themes are identity, purpose and relationships, not just money. lifecoachingcertification.net reports a 30% uptick in retirement coaching demand as baby boomers retire, with coaches addressing exactly those areas. Rarified Life’s modules on Identity, Motivation and Alignment address these themes directly, in sequence.
Start by separating who you are from what you did, then look at what genuinely motivates you without a paycheck, and match your values to how you spend your days. That is the sequence of Rarified Life’s Preferment modules: Identity, Motivation and Alignment, followed by Accountability and Launch.
No. Rarified Life founder Anne van Leynseele describes living four reinventions, from film and television production, to digital strategy and law, to co-owning a chocolate farm in Hawaii. Starting life over after 50 is less about erasing your career and more about choosing what your experience is for next.
Treat it as a design problem, not a personal failing. Begin with small experiments tied to what you value, and give yourself structure and accountability. Rarified Life’s free presentation is a no-cost starting point, and it addresses how to pinpoint what your future self really wants, even if that seems like a mystery today.
One theme comes up often: your work is not all you are. A Preferment participant, quoted on rarifiedlife.com, put it this way: "I thought work defined me, but I discovered I am so much more. I learned to ‘be’ rather than just ‘do’ on autopilot." Starting before your last day also helps.
Rarified Life’s free presentation describes a path to a real answer within 8 weeks, one that does not start with "I used to." That answer usually comes from naming a mission for your next chapter, which is the focus of the final Preferment module, Launch, after identity, motivation and alignment work.
Researchers have studied it directly. A study on PMC titled "Does Retirement Change What Individuals Value in Life" followed workers over time; around half had fully retired at follow-up, and 10% worked after retirement. Rarified Life’s Alignment module helps you take stock of your values as they are now, not as they were at work.
Watch the free presentation first. It explains the 5-step plan and the thinking behind Preferment. If it resonates, review the 8-week Preferment course, or send your questions to Rarified Life through the contact page on rarifiedlife.com. There is no need to decide on the course before watching.
Use the contact page at rarifiedlife.com/contact-7521. Rarified Life also lists the phone number 808-765-2330 and the email addresses Hello@rarifiedlife.com and Anne@rarifiedlife.com. Questions about course dates, format, price or fit are best sent there before you enroll.
Rarified Life lists Edmonds, Washington, and a mailing address at PO Box 1174, Captain Cook, Hawaii 96704. Founder Anne van Leynseele co-owns an award-winning chocolate farm on Hawaii’s Big Island. Ask the business how course sessions are delivered for your location and time zone.
The Breakthrough Session is a 40-minute call listed on Rarified Life’s booking calendar at rarifiedlife.com/book. The calendar does not describe an agenda, so contact Rarified Life if you want to know what the session covers before you book a time.
Start dates are not published on this site. Check the Preferment course page on rarifiedlife.com or contact Rarified Life to ask when the next live sessions begin. Watching the free presentation in the meantime is a good way to decide whether the course is right for you.
Yes. Anne van Leynseele wrote the book Preferment, which the course is built on and which is included in the course as your companion text and workbook. Rarified Life lists additional books as coming soon. The course works through the book chapter by chapter, with exercises between sessions.
Start with the free presentation, which costs nothing and asks for no commitment. It shows how Rarified Life approaches the transition out of a career. You can also contact Rarified Life with questions before deciding on the 8-week course, and decide at your own pace.
Watch the free presentation for accomplished women in their 50s and 60s, then decide whether the 8-week Preferment course is your next step. Questions first? Contact Rarified Life.