Pre-Retirement & Retirement Coaching

Your Next Chapter deserves more thought than you might think.

Most people spend decades planning the financial side of retirement and almost no time on the non-financial aspects — purpose, identity, relationships, and how to meaningfully fill their days. I help people prepare for that transition by focusing on these overlooked areas.

Schedule a Free Consultation → View Coaching Packages

Not sure what a retirement coach actually does? Here is the whole process →

Chris Gomberg, M.Ed., LMFT (California LMFT 16870), CPRC

"A few minutes from Chris on what this work actually looks like."

Follow the arrows — every chapter of your life has led here

School. First job. First paycheck. The plot was handed to you — learn, work, climb.

The early chapters came with a built-in storyline and a built-in cast: classmates, coworkers, mentors, deadlines. You never had to design your days. The chapter did it for you.

"What do you do?" — and for thirty-plus years, you always had the answer.

The career chapter quietly wrote your identity for you — the title, the schedule, the sense of being needed. Purpose came supplied. Almost nobody notices it was borrowed until the chapter ends. See what's underneath the title →

“I went from Who’s Who to who’s he?”

Kids. Mortgages. Aging parents. The years when everyone needed you at once.

The full-house chapter: your rhythm belonged to everyone else, and the calendar wrote itself. "For better, for worse — but not for lunch" was still a joke about someday. Someday is a couples conversation →

The countdown chapter. Everyone asks about the money. Nobody asks about the mornings.

An entire industry stands ready for the financial side of this chapter. The rest of it — purpose, people, pace, and what Monday is actually for — gets a retirement party and a "good luck." Meet the five parts nobody plans →

Then one Monday: no alarm, no meeting, no title. The old chapters have ended — and the page is blank.

This is where most people drift. It's also where the best chapter can begin — if it's written on purpose. That's where Chris comes in. More than 40 years of guiding people through life's transitions, focused on this exact page-turn. Start with three honest minutes →

Every chapter led here. The next one is unwritten.

Your Next Chapter deserves a co-author. A complimentary 20-minute conversation — no pressure, no commitment. A conversation and a connection: a real talk about where you are and where your Next Chapter could go.

Begin Your Next Chapter →

The Five Parts

The non-financial side of retirement, in five parts.

They don't stand rigidly like pillars — they hang together like a windchime. A change in one brings about changes in the others.

Spiritual

Meaning, purpose, and what your mornings are for — the why behind the days.

Mental

Identity beyond the title, curiosity, learning, and honest emotional wellbeing.

Physical

The habits that keep your body able to carry the plans you're making.

Social

Rebuilding the connection and community the workplace used to supply.

Financial

How the funded side moves with everything else — and everything else with it.

See how the five parts move together →

Retirement Quiz · 4 minutes

Twelve honest questions. No email required.

A short reflection on the non-financial side of retirement — purpose, people, pace, identity. Nothing leaves your screen unless you choose to send it.

I have a clear sense of my purpose for my days beyond work.
I have people I see or talk with regularly to whom I feel close.
I have specific and detailed written retirement strategies of how I will fill my days, stay connected, and build my new identity.
I have habits that keep my body and mind healthy.
I have a list of things about which I am curious and excited to explore.
I know who I am outside of my job title or career.
…and six more, including your exit strategy, the conversation with your spouse, and whether you have a non-financial plan at all.

Answer each one Not yet · Somewhat · Mostly · Definitely — then see what your answers point to. There is a version for before you retire and one for after.

Take the reflection →

Already retired? There is a version of these six questions for you too — and reading both side by side is worth the minute.