Retirement coachingLast updated: November 2026
Retirement coaching for women who built something that mattered
Retirement coaching helps you redesign who you are and how you spend your days once your career ends. Rarified Life offers it through Preferment, a framework for accomplished women in their 50s and 60s who are nearing or in retirement and want the years after work to be their best.
What is retirement coaching, and can it help after a big career?
Yes: retirement coaching works on the part of leaving a career that a financial plan does not touch. Rarified Life treats retirement as a beginning, not an ending. Its Preferment framework helps high achievers redesign life after 50 by aligning future plans with personal values and building meaningful pursuits beyond work, so that “What now?” turns into a clear answer.
If your identity has been wrapped up in your work for decades, the last day can feel like stepping into a room nobody prepared you for: more time than you have ever had, and no idea what it is for. That feeling is common, and it is workable.
Definition
Preferment, as Rarified Life defines it
Preferment is Rarified Life’s framework for life after a career. The business describes it as a research-backed approach for high achievers to redesign life after 50 as an active, purpose-driven alternative to traditional retirement. Instead of winding down, you work through identity, motivation, values and structure until you can name a mission for your next chapter. The course page puts it simply: stop treating retirement like an ending, and start treating it like an ascension.
“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. I learned to ‘be’ rather than just ‘do’ on autopilot.”
Step one: the free presentation
The best place to begin is the free presentation for accomplished women in their 50s and 60s who are nearing or in retirement. It walks through a 5-step plan for replacing the “What now?” dread of retirement, even if your entire identity has been wrapped up in your work. In it you will discover:
- How to have a real answer to “So, what do you do?” that does not begin with “I used to.”
- The real reason smart, capable women get eight months into retirement and stop answering the phone.
- How to pinpoint what your future self really wants, even if that feels like a mystery now.
- How to move from days of errands and appointments to a life people ask you about.
- How to start now, without waiting for retirement day and without asking anyone’s permission.
Read more about the free presentation, or go straight to the registration page.
Step two: the 8-week Preferment course
When you are ready to do the work, the Preferment course is Anne van Leynseele’s live, 8-week course for driven people who are done treating retirement like an ending. You meet weekly, work through her book Preferment chapter by chapter, and complete real exercises between sessions. Each week builds on the last, across six modules:
- Introduction. Where you are right now, and why the old model of retirement was never built for someone like you.
- Identity. Separating who you are from what you did for a living.
- Motivation. Finding what actually moves you, now that a paycheck is not the reason.
- Alignment. Matching your values and strengths to how you will actually spend your days.
- Accountability. Building the structure that turns intention into a lived routine.
- Launch. Naming your mission for this next chapter, and stepping into it.
You do not need a five-year plan. You just need a room to start figuring it out in. See what the Preferment course includes.
By the numbers
Why the non-financial side of retirement matters
- A meta-analysis found 28% of retirees experience depression, with a 40% spike in self-reported depression during the first years after retiring (PMC, 2020/2022, as summarized by lifecoachingcertification.net).
- Retirement coaching demand has seen a 30% uptick as baby boomers retire, with coaches addressing identity, purpose and relationships, not just money (lifecoachingcertification.net).
- Retirement coaches typically charge $150 to $300 per session (lifecoachingcertification.net).
These are published market figures, not Rarified Life’s own results. See all retirement coaching statistics with sources.
Working with a retirement coach
A retirement coach, sometimes called a retirement life coach, helps you answer the questions a career used to answer for you: who you are, what you are for, and how your week is shaped. Unlike a financial planner, a coach focuses on purpose, identity, relationships and daily structure. At Rarified Life, that coaching comes from founder Anne van Leynseele, who has lived four reinventions of her own, from Los Angeles film and television to the Obama Administration to a chocolate farm in Hawaii. Learn what a retirement coach does and costs.
Retirement transition coaching, before and after your last day
Retirement transition coaching is not only for the newly retired. The free presentation is explicit that you can start this work even if your last day at work is still years away, and even if you are working full time today. Starting early lets you test new pursuits, strengthen relationships outside work and build energy and health into your plan before the calendar empties. Read about transition to retirement coaching.
How does Rarified Life compare with other retirement coaching options?
The table below compares common retirement coaching options on the same criteria: focus, format, published cost and best fit. Rarified Life publishes this comparison and lists its own course first. Costs for other options come from AARP and lifecoachingcertification.net. For the ranked version and our criteria, read the guide to retirement coaching options.
| Option | Main focus | Format | Published cost | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rarified Life Preferment course | Identity, motivation, values, daily structure, and a named mission for the next chapter | Eight weekly live sessions with Anne van Leynseele, the book Preferment, and homework built into the book | Course page describes the investment as $3,000; the store page also shows a listed price of $6,000.00 | Accomplished women in their 50s and 60s who want a structured, time-bound path |
| Six-month one-on-one coaching package | Tailored to the client over a longer arc | Private sessions across six months | $3,600 flat fee for six months, charged by one coach quoted by AARP | People who want ongoing individual support over several months |
| Private retirement coach, paid per session | Tailored to the client | One-on-one sessions, booked as needed | $150 to $300 per session typical (lifecoachingcertification.net); $125 to $150 an hour up to $800 to $1,000 an hour in major cities (AARP) | People who want fully individual pacing and can manage their own structure |
| Short coaching engagement | One or two specific questions | A couple of sessions | Around $150 per session, offered by one coach quoted by AARP | People with a narrow, well-defined question |
| Retirement coach directory | Depends on the coach you choose | Search listings by location and specialization | Varies by coach | People who want to compare many coaches before choosing |
| Financial planner or advisor | Money: savings, income and investments | Advisory meetings | Not covered by the sources used in this guide | Anyone whose main retirement question is financial |
Who leads Preferment?
Anne van Leynseele 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. She is not teaching a theory; she is showing you how to run your own reinvention. More about Rarified Life.
Retirement coaching questions
- What is 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. More in the FAQ
- What does a retirement coach do?
- 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. More in the FAQ
- How much does retirement coaching cost?
- 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. More in the FAQ
- How much does the Preferment course cost?
- 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. More in the FAQ
- Do I need to be retired to start?
- 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. More in the FAQ
- Retirement coach vs financial advisor: what is the difference?
- 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. More in the FAQ
- How do I get started with Rarified Life?
- 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. More in the FAQ
Start with the free presentation
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.