FAQ
Here are 47 plain answers to the retirement coaching questions people ask most, from what a retirement coach does to what the Preferment course costs.
Published by Rarified Life. Last updated:
Ask what you are retiring toward, not only what you are retiring from. Rarified Life’s Preferment framework is built around that question, and the answers below cover cost, format, fit, and the decisions people face before and after leaving work.
A retirement coach helps you plan the non-financial side of leaving your career: identity, purpose, daily structure, and relationships. At Rarified Life, that work runs through the Preferment framework, which moves from identity and motivation to alignment, accountability, and a named mission for your next chapter. A coach does not manage money; that remains the job of a licensed financial professional.
Retirement coaching is guided support for the personal transition out of full-time work, focused on who you are and how you will spend your days once the career ends. Rarified Life approaches it through Preferment, an active, purpose-driven alternative to traditional retirement designed for high achievers redesigning life after 50.
They overlap heavily. Life coaching for retirement, sometimes called retirement life coaching, applies general coaching methods to the questions retirement raises, such as identity, purpose, and daily structure. The Rarified Life version is built around a specific framework, Preferment, and a companion book, so the work follows a set sequence rather than open-ended sessions.
Retirement transition coaching supports the period before, during, and just after you leave your career, when routines, identity, and relationships shift at once. The Rarified Life webinar and 8-week Preferment course are both designed to be started while you are still working, so the transition begins before your last day rather than after it.
Many do. A meta-analysis cited by lifecoachingcertification.net found 28% of retirees experience depression, with a 40% spike in self-reported depression during the first years after retiring. The Rarified Life webinar also addresses a pattern Anne van Leynseele describes: smart, capable women who get eight months into retirement and stop answering the phone.
When your identity has been wrapped up in your work, losing the job can feel like losing the answer to who you are. The Preferment course addresses this directly in its Identity module, which focuses on separating who you are from what you did for a living, before moving on to motivation and alignment.
Yes, several organizations offer retirement coaching certification, and the Retirement Coaches Association maintains a public Find a Coach directory. Standards vary by program. Rarified Life is built on Anne van Leynseele’s own framework and four career reinventions; if formal credentials matter to your decision, ask Anne about her background through the Rarified Life contact page.
Preferment is the Rarified Life framework for redesigning life after 50 as an active, purpose-driven alternative to traditional retirement. It is described as research-backed and helps high achievers align future plans with personal values and build meaningful pursuits beyond their careers. The word itself means advancement, which is the point: the next chapter as a step up.
The six modules are Introduction, Identity, Motivation, Alignment, Accountability, and Launch. They move from where you are now, to separating who you are from your job, to finding what moves you, matching values and strengths to your days, building structure that turns intention into routine, and finally naming your mission for the next chapter.
Eight weeks. The live course meets weekly with Anne van Leynseele for eight sessions, working through her book Preferment chapter by chapter, with homework exercises built into the book and completed between sessions. Each week builds on the last, so the course works as a structured path rather than a series of standalone talks.
It is live. The course description lists eight weekly live sessions with Anne, so you work through the material with her in real time rather than watching recordings on your own. For session days, times, and format details, check the enrollment page or ask through the Rarified Life contact page before you enroll.
Yes. Anne van Leynseele wrote the book Preferment, and the 8-week course is built on it. The book is included with the course as your companion text and workbook, and the homework for each week lives inside it. Rarified Life has listed further books as coming soon, so check the Rarified Life store for availability.
The free webinar presents a 5-step plan for accomplished women in their 50s and 60s who are nearing or in retirement. It covers how to answer “So, what do you do?” without starting with “I used to,” why capable women can stall months into retirement, and how to pinpoint what your future self really wants.
Anne van Leynseele is the founder of Rarified Life and author of 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, helped write Washington State’s recreational cannabis legal framework, and co-owns an award-winning Big Island chocolate farm.
No. The webinar is explicitly built for people whose last day at work may still be years away, and the approach is designed to start without waiting for retirement day or asking anyone’s permission. Starting while you are still working gives you time to test new pursuits before your schedule fully opens up.
The course page describes the investment as $3,000 for eight weekly live sessions with Anne, the book, and the guided homework. The price displayed at checkout on the enrollment page is the one that applies, so confirm it there before you buy. The introductory webinar is free to attend.
Published market rates vary. lifecoachingcertification.net reports retirement coaches typically charge $150-$300 per session. Coaching Aging Adults, a Denver-area practice, lists $200 per session, with clients typically doing 3 sessions each month over 3-6 months. The main Rarified Life program is a fixed 8-week course rather than per-session billing.
Yes. The Rarified Life presentation for accomplished women in their 50s and 60s is offered free through the registration page. It is the recommended first step before the 8-week course, because it lays out the 5-step plan and helps you decide whether the full program fits you before you spend anything.
It depends on the format. Coaching Aging Adults states its retirement coaching typically lasts 3-6 months. The Rarified Life Preferment course runs for a defined eight weeks, with one live session per week and homework in between, which gives you a clear start date, a clear end point, and a named mission at the finish.
The Breakthrough Session is a 40-minute call you can book on the Rarified Life calendar. It is a direct way to talk through where you are and whether the webinar, the course, or another option fits. Available dates and times appear on the booking page, shown in your selected time zone.
Rarified Life has listed 1:1 coaching as coming soon. If you want individual coaching, use the contact page to say so and ask about timing. In the meantime, the live 8-week Preferment course and the 40-minute Breakthrough Session are the available ways to work with Rarified Life directly.
Preferment is for high achievers who are leaving, or preparing to leave, a career that shaped their identity. The course speaks to driven people who are done treating retirement like an ending. The free webinar is specifically for accomplished women in their 50s and 60s who are nearing or in retirement.
The free webinar is designed for accomplished women in their 50s and 60s. The 8-week Preferment course is described more broadly, for driven people ready to treat retirement as an ascension rather than an ending. If you are unsure which one fits you, ask through the Rarified Life contact page before registering.
That is a common starting point, and it is what the Preferment framework is built for. The Motivation module focuses on finding what moves you once a paycheck is no longer the reason, and Alignment matches your values and strengths to your days. You do not need a five-year plan to begin.
No. Starting life over after 50 is the premise of Preferment. Anne van Leynseele has lived four reinventions, from building and selling a Los Angeles production company to co-owning a chocolate farm on Hawaii’s Big Island. The course treats your experience as an asset to redirect, not something to leave behind.
Start with identity, then motivation. Preferment works in that order: separate who you are from what you did for a living, then identify what moves you now. From there, align values and strengths with daily life, build accountability, and name a mission. The free webinar is the easiest place to see the approach.
Yes. The webinar describes an approach you can start without slowing down and without waiting for retirement day, and it is aimed at people whose last day may still be years away. The course runs weekly over eight weeks, which can fit around a working schedule; confirm session times on the enrollment page.
Many people benefit from both, because they answer different questions. A financial planner addresses whether your money will last. A retirement coach addresses what you will do with your time and who you will be. Rarified Life focuses only on the second question and does not give financial, tax, or legal advice.
Traditional retirement planning centers on money and a finish line. Preferment treats life after 50 as an active next chapter and centers on identity, motivation, values, and a named mission. Put simply, a financial plan answers “can I afford to stop?” while Preferment answers “what am I moving toward?”
A course follows a set curriculum on a fixed schedule, while 1:1 coaching adapts session by session to one person. Preferment is a live course with structured weekly modules and homework from the book. Per-session 1:1 coaching, as published by other practices, is billed by the session and often runs for several months.
The book Preferment is the course’s companion text and includes the exercises, so reading it is a real start. The course adds eight weekly live sessions with Anne and a set pace, which supplies the accountability many people find hardest to create alone. Accountability is one of the six course modules.
Search directories such as the Retirement Coaches Association’s Find a Coach listing, and check whether a coach works online. Coaching Aging Adults, for example, works locally in the Denver area or online nationally and internationally. The Rarified Life webinar is delivered online; ask about the course format through the contact page.
A therapist is a licensed clinician who treats mental health conditions such as depression. A retirement coach helps you plan and act on your next chapter. If you are experiencing persistent low mood after retiring, speak with a licensed professional; coaching such as Preferment can sit alongside that care but does not replace it.
Review income with a licensed financial professional, decide how you will answer “What do you do?”, list your core values, test a new pursuit while still employed, sketch a weekly structure, align expectations with your partner, build friendships outside work, set a health routine, confirm benefit timing with HR, and name a mission for the first year.
The $1,000 a month rule is a rule of thumb saying you need roughly $240,000 saved for every $1,000 of monthly retirement income, based on a 5% annual withdrawal rate. It is a rough estimate, not advice. Rarified Life does not provide financial planning, so check your own numbers with a licensed professional.
There is no single happiest age; it depends on your health, finances, and whether you are retiring toward something or only away from work. That last factor is the one Preferment addresses. Building purpose and structure before your last day is something you can control, whatever the number on the calendar.
The best month depends on your employer’s benefits, bonus and pension timing, and your tax situation, so ask your HR department and a financial professional. On the personal side, any month works if you have a plan for the first Monday after. Starting Preferment before your last day means that Monday already has a purpose.
A common mistake is treating retirement as only a financial event and leaving identity, purpose, and daily structure to sort themselves out. The Rarified Life webinar describes capable women who stall around eight months into retirement. Planning the non-financial side early, while still working, is the core idea behind Preferment.
Regrets vary, and Rarified Life has not published its own survey on this question. Themes that come up often in retirement writing include waiting too long to plan the personal side and losing touch with people after leaving work. The Preferment Identity and Alignment modules are designed to address both early.
Avoid filling your days only with errands and appointments, waiting for purpose to arrive on its own, and making large financial moves without professional advice. The Rarified Life webinar focuses on moving from a calendar of errands to a life people ask you about, while energy, health, and close relationships grow stronger.
One recurring piece of advice is that work is not the whole of who you are. A Preferment participant quoted on rarifiedlife.com said, “I thought work defined me, but I discovered I am so much more. I learned to ‘be’ rather than just ‘do’ on autopilot.” That shift is what the course is designed around.
Register for the free webinar first. It presents the 5-step plan and helps you decide whether the 8-week Preferment course fits. If it does, enroll in the course. If you have questions before deciding, use the Rarified Life contact page or book a 40-minute Breakthrough Session on the calendar.
Send a speaking inquiry through the Rarified Life contact page with your event date, audience, and format. Anne’s subject is the Preferment framework and life after career, informed by four reinventions across film and television, digital strategy, public service, and agriculture. You can also email Anne@rarifiedlife.com directly.
Use the contact page at rarifiedlife.com, call 808-765-2330, or email Hello@rarifiedlife.com. You can also reach Anne directly at Anne@rarifiedlife.com. Rarified Life lists Edmonds, Washington, and a mailing address in Captain Cook, Hawaii, and responds to webinar, course, speaking, and coaching questions.
Rarified Life lists Edmonds, Washington, and a mailing address at PO Box 1174, Captain Cook, Hawaii 96704. Anne van Leynseele co-owns an award-winning chocolate farm on the Big Island of Hawaii. The free webinar is delivered online, so you can watch it from wherever you live.
Ask what framework they use, how long the program runs, what it costs in total, whether sessions are live or recorded, and whether they work with people who are still employed. For Preferment, the answers are six modules, eight weeks, a published course price, live weekly sessions, and yes.
Start with the free webinar, which costs nothing and shows the approach before you commit. If you still have doubts, book a Breakthrough Session or ask through the contact page. Refund and cancellation terms are set by the Rarified Life Terms of Service, so review them before you enroll.
Still have a question? Ask through the Rarified Life contact page or go back to retirement coaching for high achievers.
The free presentation lays out the 5-step plan. If it fits, the live Preferment course turns it into your own plan with Anne van Leynseele. Questions, speaking requests, or coaching inquiries go straight to Rarified Life.