For Coaches
Retiring population
Countries all over the world have a large population reaching retirement age. By 2030, the youngest Baby Boomers will have turned 65. 10,000 Americans turn 65 every day. In the U.K., 65+ is the fastest growing age group.
1 in 3 struggle
with retirement
Retirement is a significant transition and, for some, a very difficult one. While many hope to delay retirement, as many as 50% are pushed to retire, sooner-than-planned.
Designing a fulfilling retirement
We have researched retirement challenges and wellbeing. An understanding of these issues enables coaches to further support clients in designing their own fulfilling new lifestyle.
Let’s change the way people prepare for retirement.
Retirement Life Plan offers more than a certification for coaches. We bring a community of experienced coaches together, who are changing the way people experience retirement, and who continue learning together.
Join us in transforming the way people prepare for retirement, and supporting one of life's most significant transitions. The Retirement Life Coach™ Certification is designed for trained coaches who want to deepen their expertise, expand their practice into a growing niche, and deliver research-informed coaching that goes to the heart of what their clients are navigating in retirement.
If you are coaching people who are working toward or in their retirement, and its many phases, this is the most thorough and detailed programme to ensure that as a coach you can confidently explore and support people with their individual experiences and enjoyment in retirement.
Lesley Roberts, Director, LR Consultancy Ltd, UK
Why enroll?
With insights, frameworks, and tools from this program, you will be able to:
✔ Help clients design a retirement that is personally fulfilling
✔ Explore retirement-specific changes and adjustments
✔ Help clients prepare and avoid post-retirement challenges
✔ Specialize or extend your services in an underserved niche
✔ Be on the forefront of more holistic retirement planning
Are you working with clients who are in or near the retirement transition?
Work provides far more than income. For many people, it is a primary source of identity, purpose, daily structure, and social connection. When that chapter ends, the adjustment can be more complex than anyone anticipated, and your clients may be looking for support with retirement-specific changes.
We have reviewed research on retirement adjustment and well-being, and identified the specific challenges that tend to emerge after leaving work behind, so that coaches can be better prepared to support clients through them.
Who is the certification for?
The Retirement Life Coach Certification is designed for coaches who already have training or experience and want to specialize in the retirement transition. Whether your clients are approaching retirement, newly retired, or somewhere in the middle of the adjustment, the certification gives you the frameworks, tools, and confidence to support them more effectively — within your current practice, or as the foundation for a growing and underserved niche.
Interested but don't yet have coaching credentials? Contact us to discuss options.
This is a fit if you:
✔ Have coaching training or credentials
✔ Work with clients near or in retirement
✔ Want to grow in an underserved niche
✔ Value research insights and enhanced awareness
✔ Want to connect with a community of coaches who share your passion
What is the format?
Guided Cohort
We recommend joining one of the guided cohorts. Modules are completed at your own pace between the three live webinars, which bring the cohort together to discuss case studies, share perspectives, and deepen the learning.
Modules 1–3. Completed on your own → Live Webinar 1 → Modules 4–6. Completed on your own → LiveWebinar 2 → Modules 7–10. Completed on your own→ LiveWebinar 3 → Assessment. Client case reflection and final exam
Prefer to go at your own pace?
The self-paced option lets you complete all 10 modules on your own schedule. Case study reflections replace the live webinars, and you have the option to attend one cohort webinar.
What you will gain
By completing the certification, you will have the knowledge, frameworks, and tools to:
✔ Assess client needs across key areas of retirement wellbeing
✔ Recognize and address common retirement beliefs and misconceptions
✔ Identify where clients are in the retirement transition
✔ Assess retirement-specific circumstances as context for each coaching engagement.
✔ Deliver targeted coaching, informed by research, that addresses what clients need to thrive in retirement
✔ Specialize in a growing and underserved coaching niche
✔ Join a global community of coaches who share your passion for retirement coaching
Everything included in your enrollment
✔ 10 modules with over 10 hours of content
✔ 15 ICF CCE hours — approved by the International Coaching Federation
✔ Instructor access throughout the program
✔ Three 90-minute live webinars with case study discussion
✔ Case studies, reflective exercises, and sample client exercises
✔ Materials delivered to your door: training manual and a copy of the book, Retirement Life Plan: Navigating the Transition from a Rewarding Career
✔ One year community access with live webinars and more opportunities to connect
✔ Certificate of Completion and Certified Retirement Life Coach™ badge upon successful completion
The Retirement Life Coach Certification is approved by the International Coaching Federation (ICF) for 15 hours of Continuing Coach Education (CCE).
Upcoming Certification Dates
November 6, 2026 - January 10, 2027
Live webinars on Nov 17, Dec 1, & Dec 15 (Tuesdays, 9-10:30am Pacific Time/ 5-630pm GMT)
This cohort allows additional time to complete requirements given the holidays.
February 1 - March 31, 2027
Live webinars on Feb 11, Feb 25, & March 11 (Thursdays, 9-10:30am Pacific Time/ 5-630pm GMT)
How does it work?
Self-study modules become available on the start date, but are completed in your own time. We ask that you complete the requirements before the closing date for the cohort, though many coaches complete it sooner.
Unable to attend a live webinar?
Please contact us if you are unable to attend one of the live webinars so that we can arrange an alternative.
Self-Paced Option
Complete the certification at your own pace, with optional participation in one live webinar. Case study reflections are assigned in lieu of live webinars.
I learned, I had fun, I met others who feel passionately about retirement coaching, and I'm looking forward to staying connected. I'm glad I took the time to research and that I chose Retirement Life Plan as the course for certification. It was a wonderful experience!
-Laurie Crawford, M.S., PCC
Total Investment: $1,250
What’s Inside
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Explore retirement trends across the US, UK, and other parts of the world, and how retirement is changing. Explore why retirement wellbeing and retirement coaching is becoming increasingly relevant.
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Learn about the role of definitions of retirement and how they are evolving. Learn to recognize retirement types and identify misconceptions that get in the way of planning and satisfaction. Finally, learn about group differences that are often assumed to shape retirement experiences, including between men and women.
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Reframe retirement as a gradual process of adjustment rather than a single change. This module introduces phases drawn from research on retirement experiences, along with other frameworks that may be relevant in specific client scenarios.
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Get introduced to the Anchors of Retirement Wellbeing model and the research behind it. This is a framework you will use throughout the program and that you may use to organize and guide your coaching conversations.
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Explore the anchor Who You Are, including common experiences related to identity, what to watch for, and coaching strategies to support clients with this shift.
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Explore the anchor, What You Do, around adjusting to changes in daily occupations and pursuits. Learn relevant theories and strategies for helping clients build meaningful engagement and a sense of purpose.
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Explore the anchor, Who Is Involved, around relationships and social networks. Learn theories behind retirees' adjustment to changing social connections, along with common experiences and strategies to support pre-retirees and retirees in this area.
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Continue exploring the anchor, Who Is Involved, with a focus on family. Learn about family as a context for retirement experiences, as well as common adjustment experiences between retirees and their family and how clients may better prepare for family adjustments.
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Explore the anchor, How You Structure It, with the role of time management in retirement adjustment and wellbeing. Learn about considerations and approaches for supporting clients in this area.
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Explore a general approach and key considerations for retirement coaching, and integrate your own background and experience into your coaching practice.
What People Are Saying
Ready to join?
Still have questions?
Send us a message. We answer every email.
2027 Cohort Dates
February 1 - March 31, 2027
Live webinars on Feb 11, Feb 25, & March 11 (Thursdays, 9:00-10:30am Pacific Time/ 5-630pm GMT)
April 1 - May 31, 2027
Live webinars on Apr 16, Apr 30, & May 14 (Fridays, 9:00-10:30am Pacific Time/ 5-630pm BST)
August 6 - September 30, 2027
Live webinars on Aug 19, Sep 2 & Sep 16 (Thursdays, 9:00 - 10:30pm Pacific Time/ 5-630pm BST)
October 8 - December 8, 2027
Live webinars on Oct 21, Nov 4 & Nov 18 (Thursdays, 9 - 1030am Pacific Time/ 5-630pm GMT)
Self-study modules become available on the start date and due for completion by the closing date, but are completed in your own time. Please contact us if you are unable to attend one of the live webinars so that we can arrange an alternative.
RETIREMENT LIFE COACH™ Certification is approved by the International Coaching Federation for 15 hours of CCE and certification indicates successful completion of the course, including a passing score on course requirements, but is not intended to signify or replace any licensing or other professional requirements.
How we help you to help others with retirement
“As in all successful ventures, the foundation of a good retirement is planning.”
- Earl Nightingale -