The concept of retirement coaching has caught fire, and it’s getting hotter. It’s one of those industry trends you don’t want to be on the outside of looking in, or wind up the last one to integrate it into your practice. 

That makes the answer a simple “Yes, you should add elements of it to your practice.” Of course, the harder question is, “How do I do it?”

Retirement coaching can be broadly defined as the process of helping clients prepare for, and transition into everyday retirement life. Things like replacing their work identity, staying relevant and connected, keeping mentally and physically sharp, and even spiritually grounded. In other words, using tools and resources to help clients prepare for the non-financial aspects of retirement.

Taking it one step further, I view retirement coaching as the way in which we give our clients permission to open up … discover who they are … what this time will mean for them, and then, empowering them to do it.

On the surface, adding retirement coaching to your skill set may seem like a major decision demanding hours of research, a new credential, plus ongoing training and support. While all of those may need to be considered at some point, I want to encourage you to start simpler. To begin by connecting your prospects and clients to this type of retirement planning by sharing your own life lessons as a means of creating both awareness and points to reflect upon as they journey toward retirement.

By using your own everyday life examples, advisors can shift the focus from feeling overwhelmed by another role they need to play to concentrating on the way they wish to deliver the coaching. Here are two recent examples that could fit into a blog post, newsletter or email. 

Retirement Coaching: What Are You Carrying Into Retirement?

I’m not sure what compels me to do it, but every time my wife comes home from the grocery store, I have this inherent need, a deep-rooted desire, to carry everything in with one trip to the car. Mind you, we have four kids, plus a dog and guinea pig, so as you can imagine, when I reach the car, I am greeted by a sea of grocery bags.

As I approach the vast cargo, I begin to assess the prospects of the journey and begin strategically slipping the bags over each wrist … carefully leaving my hands available to carry a gallon of milk and laundry detergent.

As I lift with great force and walk with profound focus, I quickly come face to face with my grocery delivery nemesis: The door.

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