Retirement coaching could improve post-career happiness

Helping clients prepare for the giant step of retiring can require more than a focus on finances and an ad hoc discussion about hobbies.

For some clients, a successful retirement may demand specialized coaching from a growing number of professionals who help people think about why they worked in the first place and about what new roles will give their lives meaning after they stop receiving a paycheck.

“The discussions may show them that they actually enjoy doing what they’re doing more than they thought,” said Mitch Anthony, retirement coach and author of “The New Retirementality” (Wiley, 2014).

Some advisers send clients to retirement coaches if they worry they’re likely to suffer from one of the common complaints of the newly retired: boredom or feelings of uselessness or depression.

Other advisers seek training to know how to effectively explore these topics with clients to better prepare them for the next phase of their lives.

Mr. Anthony has worked with about 100 advisers to help them develop a process and approach that will encourage clients to share their stories and fears about retirement. Other organizations that offer retirement coaching instruction or certification include Retirement Options and the Inspired Business Institute.

An advisory firm typically has one person who gets trained in this specialty, which requires certain skills that not everyone is likely to do well, Mr. Anthony said.

“This isn’t about being a good talker,” he said. “It’s about being a good biographer, where you can find a thread in their story and ask the right questions.”

(More: 5 ways financial advisers an steer clients toward a successful retirement)

Jeff Maas, co-founder of Retirement Security Centers, said he asks clients general life planning questions and will refer them to a retirement coach if those conversations turn up issues. For instance, he’ll recommend it for a husband and wife who have differing views about what each of them will do when they retire.

He refers clients to Inspired Life Planning, a retirement coaching firm that one of his clients started after his own retirement a couple of years ago.
“We’ve had about 20 clients go through his process and they’ve all been glad they did,” Mr. Maas said. “Some said it was a huge help, while others said it mostly confirmed everything they were thinking.”

The $250 process involves clients answering questions online and then having a phone conversation about the answers. Sometimes clients contract with the coach for further sessions.

Gary Weuve, a former adviser and adviser trainer, retired in August and started a retirement coaching business called 2ndActLives.

“I saw when talking to people a need for helping them figure out how to fill their time,” he said. “Some folks were already retired and I would talk with them about what they were doing and commonly they said they were still trying to figure that out.”

His business will try to match people with retirement coaches who can help people “figure out how to turn their passions into activities in retirement,” Mr. Weuve said.