A course hub by Rarified Life
Retirement coaching and a life after retirement course for high achievers
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Rarified Life's life after retirement course is Preferment, an 8-week live course in which retirement coach Anne van Leynseele helps high achievers separate who they are from what they did and build an active, purposeful next chapter.
Rarified Life offers retirement coaching built on its research-backed Preferment framework, an alternative to conventional retirement grounded in personal values, meaningful pursuits, learning, and physical activity. That coaching is delivered today through Preferment: eight weekly live sessions with Anne, her book, and built-in homework, moving through six modules from Identity to Launch.
- 8weekly live sessions with Anne
- 6modules, from Introduction to Launch
- 1book included as your workbook
- 4reinventions Anne has lived herself
What is a life after retirement course?
A life after retirement course is a structured program that helps you plan how you will live, not how you will pay for it, once your career ends. Rarified Life's course, Preferment, does this over eight weeks of live sessions, using Anne van Leynseele's book as the workbook and homework between sessions.
Should I choose retirement coaching or a course?
For most people starting out, Rarified Life's live course is the practical way to get coaching from Anne now: you get her guidance, a set structure, and a group moving at the same pace. Private 1:1 coaching is listed as coming soon as of November 2026, so it fits readers who would rather wait for one-to-one time. If your real question is money, a financial planner is the better first stop.
Who is the retirement coach behind 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.
In Rarified Life's words, she is not teaching a theory: she has lived four reinventions and shows participants how to run their own.
How Rarified Life approaches retirement coachingPreferment, defined
Preferment is Rarified Life's research-backed framework for the years after a career, presented as an alternative to conventional retirement. Where conventional retirement treats the end of work as an ending, Preferment treats it, in the words of the course page, "like an ascension."
It rests on four pillars: personal values, meaningful pursuits, learning, and physical activity. The back cover of Anne van Leynseele's book describes it as stories, research, and practical lessons defining a modern post-career life platform, one that teaches "the difference between filling hours and fulfilling hours." Rarified Life applies the framework through retirement coaching, delivered today in the 8-week Preferment live course.
The Preferment course in numbers
- 8 weeks, with 8 weekly live sessions led by Anne van Leynseele.
- 6 modules: Introduction, Identity, Motivation, Alignment, Accountability, Launch.
- 1 book, Preferment, included as companion text and workbook, with homework built in.
- Price, as of November 2026: the course page lists $6,000.00 beside the cart and states an Investment of $3,000 for the sessions, book, and guided homework. Confirm on the Preferment course page.
- 3 continents where Anne advised Fortune 100 companies, and 4 reinventions she has lived.
How does the Preferment course move from week to week?
Each week builds on the last. The six modules run in this order, working through the book chapter by chapter, with exercises done between live sessions.
Module 1: Introduction
Where you are right now, and why the old model of retirement was never built for someone like you.
Module 2: Identity
Separating who you are from what you did for a living.
Module 3: Motivation
Finding what actually moves you, now that a paycheck isn't the reason.
Module 4: Alignment
Matching your values and strengths to how you'll actually spend your days.
Module 5: Accountability
Building the structure that turns intention into a lived routine.
Module 6: Launch
Naming your mission for this next chapter, and stepping into it.
How does a retirement course compare with other ways to prepare?
| Option | Main focus | Live guidance | Structure | Published price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Preferment live course (Rarified Life) | Identity, motivation, and purpose after a career | Yes: 8 weekly live sessions with Anne van Leynseele | Six set modules, a book, and built-in homework | Listed at $6,000.00; Investment section states $3,000 |
| One-to-one retirement coaching | Your own goals, set with a coach | Yes: private sessions | Varies by coach | Varies by coach; Rarified Life 1:1 listed as coming soon |
| Self-guided books and workbooks | The author's framework | No | Self-paced, no outside accountability | Varies by title |
| Financial planning | Money, income, and whether savings will last | Yes: meetings with a planner | Varies by planner | Varies by planner |
What one participant said
"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."
What else has Anne van Leynseele written for life after retirement?
Alongside Preferment, rarifiedlife.com shows covers for three shorter guides by Anne. They reflect the learning and physical activity pillars of the framework. Rarified Life lists books as coming soon in its shop, so check there for availability.
Explore the course hub
- Retirement coaching built on the Preferment frameworkWhat a retirement coach does, how Rarified Life coaches, and who Anne van Leynseele is.
- The Preferment live course, explainedWhat the 8-week Preferment live course includes, what it costs, and how it runs.
- The six Preferment modulesThe six modules of the Preferment course: Introduction, Identity, Motivation, Alignment, Accountability, Launch.
- Who the Preferment course is forWho the Preferment course and Rarified Life coaching fit, and who should choose something else.
- Am I emotionally ready to retire?A free 10-question self-check on emotional readiness for retirement.
- How long does it take to adjust to retirement?Adjustment timelines, the five emotional stages of retirement, and retirement transition coaching.
- How to enjoy life after retirementWays to enjoy life after retirement using Preferment's four pillars.
- Retirement coaching vs other ways to prepareA ranked comparison of four ways to prepare for life after retirement.
- Retirement by the numbers, 2026Published 2026 retirement survey statistics from EBRI and NIRS, with sources.
Questions about the life after retirement course
More answers on the retirement coaching and course FAQ.
- What is a retirement coach?
- A retirement coach helps you plan the non-financial side of leaving a career: identity, purpose, routine, and relationships. At Rarified Life, coaching is built on Anne van Leynseele's Preferment framework, which treats the years after a career as a time to rise rather than wind down. A retirement coach does not replace a financial planner; the two answer different questions.See this answer in the full FAQ
- Does Rarified Life offer one-to-one retirement coaching?
- As of November 2026, the Rarified Life shop lists 1:1 coaching as coming soon. Right now, coaching from Anne is delivered through the Preferment live course, across eight weekly live sessions. Check rarifiedlife.com for the current status of private coaching before you decide between the two formats.See this answer in the full FAQ
- How much does the Preferment course cost?
- As of November 2026, the course page on rarifiedlife.com shows two figures: a listed price of $6,000.00 beside the cart button, and an Investment section stating $3,000 for eight weekly live sessions, the book, and guided homework. Confirm the current price on the course page before you enroll.See this answer in the full FAQ
- Who is the Preferment course for?
- It is for driven people who spent decades building a career and a reputation and now have more time than ever, with no clear idea what it is for. Rarified Life's free presentation speaks directly to accomplished women in their 50s and 60s who are nearing or in retirement.See this answer in the full FAQ
- How long does it take to adjust to retirement?
- There is no single timeline; it depends on how sudden the change was, your health, finances, relationships, and how tied your identity was to work. Rarified Life's presentation describes capable women who "get 8 months into retirement and stop answering the phone." Structured work, like an 8-week course, gives the adjustment a shape.See this answer in the full FAQ
- What are the five emotional stages of retirement?
- A widely used description lists pre-retirement, honeymoon, disenchantment, reorientation, and stability. It draws on gerontologist Robert Atchley's phases of retirement. People do not all pass through every stage or in order. Rarified Life does not publish its own stage model; Preferment focuses on building identity and purpose at any stage.See this answer in the full FAQ
- Retirement coach or financial planner: which do I need?
- They answer different questions. A financial planner works on whether your money will last; a retirement coach works on how you will live and who you will be. Money worries are widespread: NIRS reports 61 percent of Americans are concerned they will not achieve financial security in retirement. Many people use both.See this answer in the full FAQ