Welcome to the Retirement Coaches Association

Research

The RCA is proud to share it’s latest research results. The Great Disconnect: Bridging Gaps In Retirement Expectations, Results, & Services

You can access a pdf copy of the results here:


Click to Download

We refer to our research approach as “Solution Based Research” because we don’t just want to highlight issues and trends without providing some practical application and next steps for addressing them… as well as innovating new products as services.

To that point, next month we will be launching a series of events designed to address and support people in the retirement transition. As you will see in the report, four of the most significant findings were:

  • There is a significant disconnect between pre-retiree expectations and actual retiree experiences.
  • There’s a monumental need and opportunity for Financial and HR professionals to play a role in helping clients and employees make a better transition.
  • Both existing retirees as well as pre-retirees need additional tools and support for finding purpose, identity, and connection throughout the transition.
  • Retirement is a major life adjustment that can take a year or longer.

Starting next month our coaches will be hosting virtual Identity & Purpose Labs. These events are designed to foster community and connection through group exercises and discussions that have been shown to help people fill missing voids and move toward new opportunities that provide impact.

Additionally, we are launching the Retirement Coaches Association Advisor Alliance (RCAAA) and Retirement Coaches Association Talent Alliance (RCATA). These are industry specific initiatives designed to help clients / employees plan for the non-financial aspects of life after work. Members organizations have access to training, tools and resources designed to help people replace their work identity, fill their time, stay relevant and connected, as well as keep mentally and physically active.

Members of this innovative and cutting-edge group not only understand the concept of retirement is no longer a one-time, workplace event that focuses on paycheck replacement. They know the new retirement leverages work-life balance and wellness initiatives by treating it as a multi-phase journey that educates and upskills clients / employees for a more personal and positive transition.

This new approach to retirement gets rid of old and outdated thoughts and feelings, as well as policies and perks that foster an ageist view of career transition, reduce workplace satisfaction, and negatively impact talent management.

Form more information on the research, upcoming events, and new industry alliances, please contact us at Retirement.RCA@gmail.com.

RCA Member Book Store

The Fine Print Of Retirement

We all know we should read the fine print when making a large purchase, signing a legal document or paying for a luxury vacation, but how often do we really do it?
We make assumptions based on fancy brochures, trust our “at a glance” look overs and accept the terms without hesitation. Presuming it’ll all go as planned, until it doesn’t. The reality is, retiring comes with its own fine print. While there are ample warnings about the dangers of running out of money, there is very little on the non-financial aspects of life that can seriously impact our experience, including purpose, identity, relationships, health and more.

Retirement Intelligence: Cultivating RQ or Retirement Quotient

Retirement isn’t changing, it already has! Therefore, making the best possible transition from work life to home life requires a high level of Retirement Intelligence or Retirement Quotient (RQ). This is the new, more comprehensive measure of retirement readiness and the X factor that has been missing from traditional planning conversations and decisions.
Until now, Individuals and couples, as well as financial advisors, human resource directors, and coaches, haven’t had a tool or proven process to help people understand and plan for the personal aspects of life after work.

Thriving Throughout Your Retirement Transition

Too many retirees waste some of the best years of their life in retirement trying to figure it out on their own. But it doesn’t have to be that way! You can avoid common traps and misconceptions going from merely surviving and trying to figure it out, to full-on thriving through the advice of over a dozen top retirement experts. If you are ready to change the trajectory of your retirement years, you'll want this invaluable resource in your toolbox. Join the growing movement to create a life-after-work lifestyle that moves beyond your finances and into a more diverse definition of a fulfilling retirement.

Rightsourcing Retirement: Best Practices For Employers And Employees

It's Time To Boldly Reset The Workforce Horizons Around Retirement Finally, a book ahead of its time that recognizes the comprehensive needs of both the employer and employees in transition. This book affirms what both side want but struggling to find the right balance with. Get ready for a dynamic approach that ensures workplace stability and employee experience

Out Of The Box Retirement: Creative Ideas, Role Models, and New Possibilities

Traditional Retirement Planning Has Been Put On Notice! Get ready to flourish in the new era of retirement as more than a dozen retirement experts share decades of experience to help you unleash your imagination and envision retirement like never before. Get inspired with real life stories and situations that can help you avoid falling into common traps and turn your dreams into reality. Step outside of old and outdated traditions, and create a more personal and satisfying plan for retirement.

Retirement Roots: A Christian Plan For Everyday Life In Retirement

I felt called to write this bible study because after twenty years as a financial professional I realized the traditional retirement planning process is backwards and is the reason why so many people not only fail, but often ruin their relationships, turn to unhealthy habits, feel isolated or alone, or regret their decision to leave work. The issue at hand is that there are very few financial professionals and programs that help people prepare for more than the the dollars cents of life after work. What wed need to do, and what this book is designed to do, is to right the ship. To turn things around! We need to focus on God first, then ourselves, and then finally your money. God, You, Money! Not Money, You, and sprinkle in God when its convenient or an emergency. This is the new era of retirement planning where we focus more on salvation rather than savings. Where our goal isn’t just making our way to and through retirement but rather to and through this earthly life to our home and Savior in Heaven!

Retirement Rx: Small Doses of Wisdom, Inspiration & Truth

Retirement can be scary and one of the most traumatic transitions that people go through in life. Don't waste the first and some of the best years trying to figure it out. Instead use small doses of wisdom, inspiration, and truth to help replace your work identity, fill your time, as well as keep mentally and physically active. Retirement Rx is a fun and engaging way to talk about and plan for the non-financial aspects of retirement. It contains vivid and entertaining short stories

Retirement Challenge

For the first time, The Retirement Coaches Association has brought together an elite group of retirement experts to help you unlock a compelling and purpose filled next chapter. It’s the first and only book of its kind and provides exactly what is missing from mainstream articles and discussions about retirement. Yes, there are many other books on the topic, but none of them address the non-financial aspects like this definitive collection of wisdom and advice. It digs deep and delivers powerful content that:
  • Takes readers on a personal journey to help them thrive in their transition
  • Offers a new sense of purpose for those who are unsure of, or conflicted by a retirement decision
  • Provides peace of mind by acknowledging you’re not alone no matter what you may be dealing with
  • Validates your thoughts and feelings about retirement while providing direction for you
  • Allows you to see the beauty and benefits of planning beyond the dollars and cents of retirement
  • Solo Aging

    Are you among the fifteen million Americans over fifty and childless? Solo aging gracefully and a happy retirement can be yours! Baby Boomers retiring: American Baby boomers are aging and fifteen million of them never had children. Who will take care of them? Unprecedented in U.S. history, this demographic will create challenges for these individuals as well as for society. Essential Retirement Planning for Solo Agers is a passionate exploration of the path ahead for “Solo Agers.” It includes choices in housing, relationships, legal arrangements, finances and more – and urges the solo ager to plan for the future as though their life and well-being depended on it, as author Sara Zeff Geber believes it will! Solo Agers aging well: In Essential Retirement Planning for Solo Agers, Sara Zeff Geber, a Ph.D. in Counseling and Human Behavior and a Certified Retirement Coach, coins the term “Solo Ager” to refer to the segment of society that either does not have adult children or is single and believes they will be on their own as they grow older. However, it’s not just the Solo Ager that can learn from this book. Financial advisors, elder law and estate attorneys, senior care managers, and others whose clientele is on the far side of sixty will benefit as well. Retirement and good living: With a compelling and readable style, Geber takes her readers on a journey, starting with the choice for childlessness and why so many boomers were able to make that decision. She then reviews the role of adult children in an aging parent’s world and suggests ways in which Solo Agers can mitigate the absence of adult children by relationship building and rigorous planning for their future. Geber shares her expertise on what constitutes a fulfilling older life and how Solo Agers can maximize their opportunities for financial security, physical health, meaning and purpose in the second half of life and, finally, planning for the end game.

    Naked Retirement

    Are You Ready To Get Naked & Discover The Best of What’s Next? Start preparing for more than just the dollars and cents of traditional retirement planning and learn how to live a happy, healthy, and connected retirement. Learn how to make your retirement a time of life that is truly meaningful. Answer the three most powerful retirement questions that will change your life in retirement forever. Replace your career identity and re-invent yourself. Prepare for important conversations that will both strengthen your relationships and eliminate assumptions that can later turn into arguments. Avoid the dark side of retirement. Develop wellness habits and strategies for your body, mind, and spirit. Build a retirement “curious list” and “friend list;” to help replace your work identity, fill your time, and keep you connected to family and friends. Create a more personal and meaningful Naked Retirement Plan that can improve your everyday life right away. It’s a revealing look at everyday life in retirement

    Couples Retirement

    Retirement can be the best time of your life, but for couples, there's far more to it than cashing in on your 401(k). The most important asset you have during retirement is each other, yet many couples aren't sure where to begin to prepare for retired life or what to consider as they do. The Couple's Retirement Puzzle reveals ten key conversations couples should tackle before retirement to ensure a rewarding second half of life together, including:
  • Do we have enough money to support the lifestyle we want?
  • Should we retire simultaneously or separately?
  • Do we stay put or explore new frontiers?
  • What's the best way to stay healthy and fit after fifty?
  • How do we meet new friends and create new interests outside of work?
  • How will we balance time together and time apart?
  • And more!
  • Filled with smart practical advice, engaging anecdotes, and helpful exercises,The Couple's Retirement Puzzle will guide you and your partner to a fulfilling retirement you can enjoy and celebrate together.

    Rich Life

    Do you have enough money? Are you taking care of your family? Do you know what to do with the money you have? Are you rich? The truth about money might surprise you. The answers to these questions will challenge you. Financial Advisor and Certified Success Coach, Beau Henderson has a fresh new approach to wealth creation and investing. He will tell you things about money that no one else will – what it is, who it serves, and the effect it has on all areas of your life, including health, relationships, and business. It doesn't matter where you are with regards to your finances. You can make the 10 Investments and apply the one Master Principle outlined in this book to raise your financial IQ and get on track towards building a blueprint for true wealth that will leave a legacy for future generations. And … BEST of all … it is NOT as hard or as complicated as everyone else out there would like you to believe!

    Retirement Transitions

    So much of retirement planning focuses on the financial planning, providing guidance on investment balance, cash flow management, and how much should you save. But very little talks about How-to-Define the hopefully many days after the big day. What about all the non-financial elements of retirement? There is no longer any cookie-cutter vision for retirement life. The old paradigms of retirement are falling away for new 21st Century Retirement Lifestyles. The options can feel endless; some people will tell you what you should do. Unfortunately there is no perfect list of "Five Things To Do" for a happy retirement. So, how do you create YOUR best retirement? Retirement Transition is designed to walk you through creating your own 21st Century Retirement Lifestyle. This book outlines a How-To process based on a proven Innovation Process and has many practical tools and exercises to:
  • Articulate your high priority core VALUES.
  • Know which SKILLS and STRENGTHS you want/have in this next life stage.
  • Understand what MOTIVATES you and what INTERESTS you.
  • Clarify the important ROLES you will have in this next life stage.
  • Generate ideas and insights into your future using a holistic LIFE DOMAINS framework.
  • Craft a LIFE VISION statement and have joint "me, you, we" conversations, if needed.
  • Explore POSSIBILITIES and learn how to CHOOSE which to focus on.
  • Begin ACTIVATING your 21st Century Retirement Lifestyle Vision.
  • Understand your personal BARRIERS to getting new things or new habits started.
  • She Said It With Her Eyes...

    DO YOU find yourself sometimes wondering why others tell you that you don’t listen? DO YOU find yourself being told that while you seemed to be listening, you are making completely misguided comments or asking questions making it clear you haven’t heard a word they have said? HAVE YOU heard the phrases “That’s not what I meant! Are you listening to me? Why do I talk to you?” Be reassured and know that you are not alone. Listening effectively and beyond the spoken words is a key skill that we would all benefit from doing even better than we do now. This book is a practical guide for people wanting to improve their listening skills, which will improve all their relationships, from family to work and back.

    Boy Behind Gate

    With his first mate and crew, amateur sailor Larry Jacobson embarked on a lifelong goal to circumnavigate the globe. The namesake boy behind the gate is a passionate romantic who, since childhood, yearned to discover what's out there.... How do some people overcome fears and insecurities to manifest their dreams? What are the characteristics that allow them to completely transform their lives from one of stability to one of uncertainty and adventure? Don't we all entertain ideas of reinventing ourselves, of having a chance to do it differently and by our own rules? Willing to risk all, Jacobson spent six years sailing into the unknown where the unrelenting oceans served as a teacher of seamanship, personal strength, and perseverance. In The Boy Behind the Gate, the author reveals those crucial steps that will motivate you to make your dreams come true. We are each given one great opportunity at life. What are you going to do with yours?

    Your Happiness Portfolio for Retirement: It’s Not About the Money!

    This book is about how to flourish in retirement. It is a practical guide to overcoming the challenges most of us face when we leave the career phase of our lives. Most people don't even realize they will face some challenges. The problem is they are not prepared to deal with all of the changes that occur and the need replace some of the things that were important to them -- their identity based on what they did, feeling like they are making a difference, professional friendships, a structure and rhythm to their lives. Most of all it is a guide to creating a happy and fulfilling life. Just like you need a financial portfolio to afford to retire, you need a Happiness Portfolio ® to flourish in your Third Act. A Happiness Portfolio ® is more than a bucket list - although bucket list items should be part of it. Your Happiness Portfolio® is your plan for how you want to live every aspect of your life so you feel that you are flourishing. It is about your vision, what you intend to do and how much time and energy you want to invest in each of the eight non-financial areas of your life.

    Retirement Intelligence Assessment

    Retirement Intelligence is the new, more comprehensive measure of retirement readiness and the “X” factor that has been missing from traditional planning conversations and decisions.

    Until now, there hasn’t been a tool or process to help people understand and plan for the mental, social, and physical aspects of the transition. The RQ profile is a landmark approach to assessing personal retirement readiness and serves as the new narrative for retirement planning, decision making, and transitioning. The RQ Experience:

    • Pinpoints how the emphasis around age and assets, along with other fatal flaws sets people up to fail
    • Explains how a combination of IQ, EQ, SQ, and AQ fosters Retirement Intelligence or RQ
    • Engages you in more powerful questioning to develop a new sense of purpose and identity, and cultivates a more resilient mindset around aging, longevity, and legacy.
    • Provides insight and context for transitioning your current thoughts, feelings, and behaviors into your new retirement reality, while addressing any variations that may arise.

    Retirement Intelligence is a framework for understanding an individual and not only appreciating their world, but also gaining insights from it in an effort to better prepare them for their retirement transition. The purpose is to make retirement more understandable and meaningful, which can be accomplished by assessing and increasing RQ.

    Click here to take the Retirement Intelligence Assessment