THE TOP RETIREMENT COACHES
Welcome to my journey into the world of top retirement coaches who are revolutionizing how professionals transition from their careers to fulfilling retirements.
I had the privilege of speaking with some of the best in the field, each bringing unique perspectives and methods to help their clients navigate this significant life change.
From personal experiences to specialized programs, these coaches share what makes their approaches distinct and effective.
Let’s explore their insights and learn how they can guide you to a rewarding retirement.
Do you think you or a coach that you know deserves to be featured as a top retirement coach? If yes, then fill out this form and we will consider your application and get in touch with you for the next steps.
In Brief : Top Retirement Coaches
- Toni Petrillo – Toni Petrillo, a Professional Retirement Coach with over 25 years of experience in building business development teams and coaching executives, professionals, and entrepreneurs, is passionate about guiding strategic conversations to help clients.
- Jennifer Rovet – Jennifer Rovet, a Certified Professional Retirement Coach and the owner of Retire Ready Canada, specializes in working with retirees during their transition to retirement. Passionate about helping individuals discover purpose, meaning.
- Sarah Robinson – Sarah Robinson, a Careers Consultant, Executive Coach, and Certified Retirement Options Coach, boasts nearly 25 years of expertise in supporting graduates, professionals, and senior executives through successful career transitions.
- Larry Jacobson – “Larry Jacobson, a renowned thought leader in non-fiscal retirement lifestyle planning, is the creator of Sail Into Retirement and BuoyCoaching.com. Transitioning from CEO to sailor, Larry realized his dream of circumnavigating the globe.
- Marianne Oehser – Marianne Oehser, a seasoned retirement and relationship expert, is dedicated to assisting individuals in crafting a joyful and fulfilling ‘post-career’ phase. As a certified Retirement and Relationship Coach.
- Tammy Flanagan – Tammy Flanagan, owner of the consulting firm RetireFederal.com, is a leading expert in empowering civilian federal workers during crucial career transitions from employee to annuitant.
- Kevin Lyles – Kevin Lyles specializes in assisting Professionals and Executives make retirement transitions. Kevin serves as Head of Education and Retirement Coach for the Rock Retirement Club, an online community for those approaching or in retirement.
- Mary Morency & Jeannette Lalonde – Mary Morency and Jeannette Lalonde, certified in retirement lifestyle planning, positive psychology, and resilience, bring a wealth of experience from their backgrounds in Human Resources
Dr Denise Taylor
Dr Denise Taylor is a double award-winning career coach and Chartered Psychologist with Amazing People, regularly featured in the media. For 25+ years she has offered career coaching, assessments and job search coaching with clients from teenagers to 70+. She is now on a mission to reclaim, reframe (and rethink!) retirement. Author of 8 books, most recently Find Work at 50+ and Rethinking Retirement for Positive Ageing.
What do you do differently or how is your coaching different from others?
As a Chartered Psychologist my work is evidence based. My MSc in occupational psychology specialist areas were career development and assessments which gives depth to my client work. Since my first TV appearance in 2007 I am seen as an expert in the media. I developed a clear process which takes an in-depth approach to career decision making supported by reputable assessments. This led to winning a National Career Award sponsored by a National UK Newspaper (The Independent). Gaining my PhD 2 years ago, which is shared through my latest book, Rethinking Retirement, my retirement coaching is evidence based.
What according to you has been the single most important thing that has contributed to your success as a coach?
- I have a strong research based to the work I do.
- Academic qualifications – First degree in psychology, MSc in Occupational Psychology; MBA, Doctor of Psychology.
- There is a breadth, I don’t have just one approach but draw on a range of theories, practical activities and approaches.
- My media profile – I am regularly featured in print media and as guest on radio shows and podcasts.
- My books – author of 5 career books including Find Work at 50+ and Rethinking Retirement.
- Client referrals.
Toni Petrillo
Toni Petrillo is a Professional Retirement Coach with over 25 years of experience
building business development teams and coaching executives, professionals,
entrepreneurs seeking greater career development and achievement. Her passion is to
help guide strategic conversations so her clients can attain their professional and
personal goals.
Having recently retired herself, Toni has made it her mission to share
her personal experiences and help corporate professionals make a smooth transition
from career to retirement.
Now as a Professional Retirement Coach and founder of Toni P Coaching, she partners
with business leaders to bring the fulfillment of their corporate loves into retirement.
What do you do differently or how is your coaching different from others?
As someone who has recently embarked on retirement, I draw from my own journey to provide my clients with invaluable insights, enabling them to bypass the hurdles I encountered during my transition from career to retirement.
My coaching approach is authentic and is based on my client’s agenda for growth and development. While we work through my signature program, “Intentional Retirement” ,
covering 4 key areas : Purpose; Identity; Social Connections & Wellness, I assist my clients in defining their distinct vision, establishing objectives and developing a personalized roadmap that will empower them to successfully accomplish their goals in the upcoming chapter of their lives.
What according to you has been the single most important thing that has contributed to your success as a coach?
Over my extensive tenure of 25 years as a corporate leader, coupled with my personal encounter with retirement, I have cultivated the essential qualities of empathy, expertise, and practical wisdom, which enables me to guide clients towards attaining a meaningful and intentional retirement.
Throughout my career in building and managing teams, I gained invaluable insights into connecting with individuals , fostering effective communication , and assisting them in identifying and attaining their goals.
Jennifer Rovet
Jennifer Rovet is a Certified Professional Retirement Coach and owner of Retire Ready Canada. She works with retirees as they transition to retirement and is passionate about helping people find purpose, meaning and happiness in their retirement years. She provides one on one and couples coaching sessions, exploring the emotional, social, physical, and spiritual side of retirement.
She empowers her clients to find ways to keep active and connected in this stage of their life.
What do you do differently or how is your coaching different from others?
Retirement can be both an exciting and emotional time. People choose to work with a Retirement Coach when they are struggling and not sure what to do once they stop working. When I start working with a client, I provide personalized and flexible coaching, specifically tailored to their needs. Everyone brings their own unique experiences to the table and these should be valued and respected. I don’t believe in a cookie cutter coaching process or one size fits all.
What according to you has been the single most important thing that has contributed to your success as a coach?
I have acquired a strong skill set including listening and analytical skills, as well as being able to probe and ask a lot of questions. This is important when I work with clients as they explore, discover and plan what they want to do in retirement. In addition, I use social media (LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter), along with traditional media formats (print ads) to raise awareness around retirement and aging issues. This has led to the growth of my business through engagement and word of mouth.
Sarah Robinson
Sarah Robinson is a Careers Consultant, Executive Coach and Certified Retirement Options Coach, with nearly 25 years of supporting graduates, professionals, and senior executives to successfully manage career transition. Passionate about motivating professionals to develop and shine in their working lives, Sarah provides expert career coaching and consultancy services, interview coaching, strengths profiling and helping clients be better prepared for a more meaningful retirement. Recently featured in the Daily Mail, SAGA and Woman & Home.
What do you do differently or how is your coaching different from others?
My strengths-based coaching practice incorporates deep-dive, insightful online strengths and motivation assessments with personalized debriefs, to help clients understand themselves better, boost their confidence in their own abilities, and embrace the joy and energy of life – personally and professionally. My clients really value the uncanny accuracy of the unique reports, and the added clarity it brings to complement my career and retirement coaching. As a Certified Retirement Options Coach, I help individuals focus on the critical aspects of non-financial retirement planning using the LifeOptions Profile™, which assesses retirement readiness across 20 lifestyle and attitudinal dimensions in six life arenas.
What according to you has been the single most important thing that has contributed to your success as a coach?
Recommendations and referral have been the backbone of my business and success as a Retirement Coach. Inspired by the success of securing their next role or enhancing their performance at work, my clients are able to access coaching support at all stages of their working life, returning for help to transition smoothly into retirement. Clients comment that they value my calm, warm, intuitive and pragmatic coaching style, complemented by my wealth of careers consultancy experience across a wide spectrum of sectors and seniority levels.
Larry Jacobson
Larry Jacobson is a recognized thought leader in the field of non-fiscal retirement lifestyle planning. Creator of Sail Into Retirement and BuoyCoaching.com, Larry successfully transitioned from CEO to sailor and achieved his dream of sailing around the world. He then transitioned from sailor to six-time award-winning author, coach, and two-time Tedx motivational speaker in the fields of retirement, achievement, and leadership.
What do you do differently or how is your coaching different from others?
I was early to the field of non-fiscal retirement planning and created Sail Into Retirement, the first online video coaching course to help retirees transition to a new identity after their career. I offer three levels of coaching, starting with the video course for self-study. Someone can begin not knowing what they will be doing with their time in retirement, and will end the course with a plan in hand. I supplement the video course with one-on-one coaching in either four or nine sessions, all of which are 90 minutes long. I seek and get results for my clients.
What according to you has been the single most important thing that has contributed to your success as a coach?
My desire to help others. I made my grandest dream come true and sailed my own boat around the world for six years, and that was very self-satisfying. Now my purpose and fulfillment come from helping others achieve their goals and dreams. I’m devoted to getting results for my clients.
In my coaching practice, I work tirelessly to help clients’ dreams become reality. If they don’t know what they desire, I’ll help them discover their inner passion, and we’ll create goals and objectives to achieve it.
Marianne Oehser
Marianne Oehser is a seasoned retirement and relationship expert committed to helping people create a happy, fulfilling “post-career” phase of their lives through her workshops, seminars, public speaking, and individual coaching. She is a certified Retirement and Relationship Coach and holds a Masters of Management from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management in Chicago.
She is the author of Your Happiness Portfolio® for Retirement – It’s Not About the Money!
What do you do differently or how is your coaching different from others?
I guide clients through the proven system I have developed over the past 10 years which culminates in the completion of their Happiness Portfolio® — their plan for their precious asset of time which should be the foundation of their financial portfolio. I also incorporate my training as a Certified Relationship Coach to assist clients in a committed relationship to navigate the sometimes turbulent waters created by all of the changes they go through as they move into this new chapter of their lives.
What according to you has been the single most important thing that has contributed to your success as a coach?
I attribute my success as a retirement coach to the powerful combination of solid training and having personally experienced the challenges and opportunities people encounter as they transition into retirement. I retired twice; the first time in my 40’s and I failed miserably. It also caused the end of my marriage. After returning to the corporate world for another 15 years, I retired the second time, this time very successfully. My new marriage is truly flourishing. My training gave me the intellectual knowledge and my experience gave me the emotional understanding I need to support people through this process.
Tammy Flanagan
Tammy Flanagan owns the consulting firm, RetireFederal.com, where she expertly empowers civilian federal workers to make critical decisions at the crossroads of their careers when transitioning from employee to annuitant. She authors a weekly column on govexec.com, which is read by federal workers across the globe and is considered the #1 go-to source of accurate instruction.
What do you do differently or how is your coaching different from others?
Through decades of experience, I have supported federal employees and taught them to take control over their retirement through education and expert assistance throughout a history of ever changing laws and regulations. My success is being able to pinpoint the source of errors and potential retirement disasters, then find the most logical and accurate solution to get them back on track. This work is a passion for me and I credit my expert problem solving skills and my sincere respect for well-deserving and intelligent feds as the source of my accomplishments.
What according to you has been the single most important thing that has contributed to your success as a coach?
The key to my success is that I’ve never stopped learning from my mentors who have included authors, presenters, financial and legal experts as well as other human resources colleagues. They’ve taught me to explain difficult and at times illogical regulations clearly and with humor and grace. As a sought after presenter, I am humbled by the investigators, clerks, managers, officers, or any of the multitude of titles held by the 2.1 million federal workers that allow me to help them transition to retirement.
Kevin Lyles
Kevin Lyles specializes in assisting Professionals and Executives make retirement transitions. Kevin serves as Head of Education and Retirement Coach for the Rock Retirement Club, an online community for those approaching or in retirement. Kevin serves as Retirement Coach and Instructor for Prositions, Inc., where he has also developed a course on the non-financial aspects of retirement. Kevin appears on the monthly Coach’s Corner segment on the popular Retirement Answer Man podcast.
What do you do differently or how is your coaching different from others?
Nearly all of my coaching is done in a “one to many” format, through live presentations and webinars, and through my on-line courses. I believe strongly in the marriage of the financial and non-financial aspects of retirement planning and support and participate in research of interest to retirees. I have presented on several occasions with Wade Pfau, PhD through his Retirement Researcher community and speak regularly on popular retirement podcasts and radio shows such as Retirement Answer Man, The Retirement and IRA Show, ChappelWood Financial Services” Lunchtime Drive, and Taxes in Retirement Live.
What according to you has been the single most important thing that has contributed to your success as a coach?
The single most important thing that has helped my coaching has been my involvement and coaching in two large online retirement communities, the Rock Retirement Club and the Retirement Researcher Academy. By interacting on a daily basis with the hundreds of members of each of these groups, people who are about to or who have recently retired, I have learned much more than I have taught, and I have applied these insights in my own retirement and in my coaching.
Mary Morency & Jeannette Lalonde
Mary Morency and Jeannette Lalonde are on a mission to influence individuals, organizations,
and society on the new realities of retirement. With backgrounds in Human Resources, they are
certified in retirement lifestyle planning, positive psychology, and resilience. They have coached
over 250 clients and offer retirement coaching to groups and individuals. Their newly published
book, Rethinking Retirement – A Guide for Making Choices, is available in English and French.
What do you do differently or how is your coaching different from others?
We support organizations and individuals to plan a smooth transition into retirement as well as retirees wanting to infuse more energy into their new phase of life. Having authored a book in 2021, we provide a structured approach based on four key areas: Contribution, Well-Being, Connections, and Purpose. Based on Positive Psychology and retirement lifestyle research, we challenge our clients to shift their thinking and adapt their choices for their next phase in life.
What according to you has been the single most important thing that has contributed to your success as a coach?
We are retirees ourselves, and so we understand first-hand what our clients are going through as they start to plan their transition into retirement. When we meet with our clients, they know right away that we have ‘’walked in their shoes’’. Whether we are coaching clients one-on-one or in a group setting, we offer a highly structured and personalized approach which appeals to
people still in the workplace.
Conclusion
These top retirement coaches highlight the importance of personal experience, empathy, and tailored methodologies in guiding professionals through the transition to retirement.
Their diverse approaches and dedication to helping clients find purpose and happiness in their post-career lives offer valuable lessons for anyone preparing for this next chapter.
By embracing their strategies, you can make your retirement not just an end, but a new beginning filled with possibilities.
Our highest-rated course lays the necessary foundations about this for you. This is a paid course but you can register for FREE for a limited time here.
Do you think you or a coach that you know deserves to be featured as a top retirement coach? If yes, then fill out this form and we will consider your application and get in touch with you for the next steps.
ABOUT SAI C.N.G. BLACKBYRN
I’m Sai C.N.G. Blackbyrn, better known as “The Coach’s Mentor.” I help Coaches like you establish their business online. My system is simple: close more clients at higher fees. You can take advantage of technology, and use it as a catalyst to grow your coaching business in a matter of weeks; not months, not years. It’s easier than you think.
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