Life after workLast updated: November 2026Published by Rarified Life
Retirement transition coaching helps you plan who you will be and how you will spend your days after work, and Preferment does this through a structured 8-week course.
Rarified Life approaches life coaching for retirement as a sequence rather than a list of ideas. The Preferment course moves from identity to motivation, then to aligning values with a real calendar, building accountability, and naming a mission. It is retirement lifestyle planning that starts with you, not with activities.
Rarified Life's answer is to design it deliberately rather than wait for it. Its materials describe a common pattern: smart, capable people reach months into retirement with days filled by errands and appointments, and the energy goes out of them. The alternative is a life people ask you about, built on what you value, with your energy, health, and closest relationships getting stronger.
That takes more than a list of retirement lifestyle ideas. It takes knowing who you are without your job title and what moves you now, which is where the Preferment course begins.
Definition
In the Rarified Life sense, retirement transition coaching is guided work on the non-financial side of leaving a career: identity, motivation, values, daily structure, and purpose. Preferment delivers it as a live course led by Anne van Leynseele rather than as open-ended sessions. A published overview from lifecoachingcertification.net notes that retirement coaches address identity, purpose, and relationships, not just money.
Why it matters
A page from retirementlifeplan.com reports that as many as 50% of people are pushed to retire sooner than planned. 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 (PMC, 2020/2022). These numbers describe the market, not Preferment results.
Rarified Life says the work can begin even if your last day at work is years away.
Work toward an answer that does not start with the words I used to.
Identify motivation that does not depend on a paycheck.
Match values and strengths to how you actually spend your time.
Build accountability so intentions become habits.
Step into your next chapter with a mission you can say out loud.
Rarified Life currently offers the 8-week Preferment course and lists 1:1 coaching as coming soon. A course gives you a fixed path and a weekly rhythm; one-to-one coaching adapts to you. For context, a published overview from lifecoachingcertification.net reports that retirement coaches typically charge $150 to $300 per session.
See how the 8 week retirement course works or return to the retirement coaching course overview.
A retirement coach helps people plan the non-financial side of leaving work: identity, purpose, relationships, and how to spend their time. A published overview notes that retirement coaches address identity, purpose, and relationships, not just money. Preferment covers similar ground as a structured course, with modules on identity, motivation, alignment, accountability, and launch.
More in the FAQ: What does a retirement coach do?A retirement coach typically works with you in individual paid sessions, which a published overview prices at $150 to $300 each. A retirement course like Preferment follows a fixed curriculum over a set time: eight weekly live sessions, six modules, a book, and homework. A course gives you structure and a sequence; individual coaching gives you one-to-one attention.
More in the FAQ: What is the difference between a retirement coach and a retirement course?Yes. Rarified Life's materials say the approach works even if your last day at work is still years away, without waiting for retirement day. Starting before you leave gives you time to separate who you are from your job title while the structure of a career is still around you.
More in the FAQ: Can I take Preferment if I have not retired yet?No. Preferment is described for people approaching or already in retirement, and Rarified Life speaks directly to people who reach months into retirement and find their days filled with errands and appointments. A participant quote shared on rarifiedlife.com describes spending a few years wandering like a goldfish in a bowl before Preferment changed that.
More in the FAQ: I retired a while ago and feel stuck. Is it too late?Many people need both, for different reasons. A financial planner addresses whether your money will last, while Preferment addresses what you will do with your time and who you are without your job title. Rarified Life argues that a planner meeting alone is not enough preparation for the rest of your life, but Preferment does not replace financial advice.
More in the FAQ: Should I see a financial planner or take Preferment?The Rarified Life homepage lists 1:1 coaching as coming soon. For now, the 8-week Preferment course is the main guided offering, alongside the Preferment book and a free presentation. Check rarifiedlife.com for updates on when individual coaching becomes available.
More in the FAQ: Does Rarified Life offer one-on-one retirement coaching?You may be ready if the what-now question about retirement keeps coming up, if your identity has been closely tied to your work, or if your days after work feel full but not meaningful. Rarified Life's message is that you do not need a five-year plan; you need a room to start figuring it out in.
More in the FAQ: How do I know if I am ready for Preferment?