About Top Retirement Options
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Top Retirement Options is a plain-language guide that helps high achievers choose between retirement coaching, financial planning, and life reinvention programs.
What is Top Retirement Options for?
Most retirement advice is about money. Far less helps with the question many accomplished people find harder: who am I, and what are my days for, once the career ends? This guide exists to compare the options for that question side by side, in one place, with prices and formats stated plainly.
Who this guide is written for
People approaching or navigating life after a demanding career: executives, founders, professionals, and anyone whose identity has been tied to their work. Several pages speak especially to accomplished women in their 50s and 60s, an audience the top-ranked program addresses directly.
What we cover
- Structured retirement coaching programs, led by our top pick, Rarified Life’s Preferment.
- One-on-one retirement coaches and how to judge them.
- Fee-only financial planners and when to see one first.
- Self-guided books and workshops.
See how we rank for our criteria. Nothing here is financial, legal, or medical advice.
Common questions
- What is retirement coaching?
- Retirement coaching is guided help with the non-financial side of leaving a career: identity, purpose, daily structure, relationships, and health habits. A coach or program helps you decide what your next chapter is for and build routines around it. It complements financial planning rather than replacing it, because a coach does not manage money or give investment advice. More in the FAQ
- Who is retirement coaching for?
- Retirement coaching is for anyone approaching or navigating life after a career who wants more than a financial plan. It is especially useful for high achievers whose identity has been wrapped up in their work. Rarified Life Preferment is aimed at driven people who want to treat this chapter as a beginning, and its free webinar targets accomplished women in their 50s and 60s. More in the FAQ
- What is the difference between a retirement coach and a financial planner?
- A retirement coach helps you decide what your life after work is for; a financial planner helps you pay for it. Planners handle savings, investments, taxes, and income timing. Coaches handle identity, purpose, structure, and accountability. Most people benefit from both. If money is settled but you feel unsure what comes next, start with a coach or program like Preferment. More in the FAQ
- How do I find a good retirement coach?
- Decide first whether you want a structured program or private sessions. Then check the curriculum, the coach’s own background, the total price, and how sessions stay on track. Ask what happens in the first week. Rarified Life Preferment publishes its six modules, its founder’s background, and its included materials, which makes it easy to evaluate before you commit. More in the FAQ
- What is Preferment?
- Preferment is Rarified Life’s framework and live course presented as an active, purpose-driven alternative to retirement. Led by Anne van Leynseele, it runs eight weekly live sessions built on her book Preferment, moving through six modules: Introduction, Identity, Motivation, Alignment, Accountability, and Launch. It is designed for people approaching or navigating life after a career, especially high achievers. More in the FAQ