For decades, retirement followed a predictable script – work hard, hit your number, stop.
That model is fading fast.
According to Fidelity’s 2024 State of Retirement Planning study, two-thirds of Americans say they look forward to working for pleasure in retirement and prefer a phased approach — working full-time at first, then part-time, before stopping altogether.
That’s not a fringe idea – rather, it’s a structural shift in how we think about our later years.
As a retirement coach, I see this every week:
- Very few accomplished professionals actually want to slam on the brakes.
- They want a glide path.
The problem is — most are drifting into it instead of designing it.
The Myth of the Clean Break
Traditional retirement assumes a clean break: From full identity to full freedom overnight. But identity doesn’t shut off like a light switch.
You don’t just retire from a job. You retire from:
- Status
- Structure
- Colleagues
- Influence
- Being needed
- The rhythm of your days
That’s why nearly one in five retirees report “unretiring” and returning to work — for both financial and mental reasons.
It’s rarely just about income and more commonly, it’s about meaning.
What Is Retirement by Design?
Retirement by Design is my approach to helping leaders and professionals consciously shape their third act instead of defaulting into it.
It starts with a different premise: Retirement is not a finish line; it’s a redesign.
Instead of asking, “When can I stop working?” we ask better questions:
- What do I want my days to feel like?
- What role does work play now — income, purpose, identity, or optional?
- How do health and energy shape this next stage?
- Who are my people?
- What does contribution look like now?
- What does “enough” really mean?
Financial planning remains essential. But it’s one input — not the entire plan.
Retirement by Design integrates:
- Identity & Purpose
- Health & Longevity
- Relationships & Community
- Financial Clarity
- Work Redefined
- Legacy & Meaning
Phased retirement lives right in the middle of that design process.
Why Phased Retirement Makes Sense — Psychologically
Phased retirement allows you to:
- Experiment before fully stepping away
- Maintain social and intellectual stimulation
- Gradually separate identity from title
- Adjust income and lifestyle in real time
- Redesign your week intentionally
It’s not about easing out. It’s about evolving forward.
This isn’t abstract for me. In 2026, with two years to go until my own planned retirement, I’m running an experiment. I’m taking one week off every month — not as vacation, but as a live prototype of retirement. I’m testing rhythms. Noticing energy. Exploring what expands and what feels flat. It’s giving me real data — emotionally, relationally, practically. That’s what phased retirement done by design looks like: intentional experimentation before the full leap.
When done intentionally, phased retirement becomes a strategic bridge — not a hesitant half-measure.
But Here’s Where Most People Get Stuck
They drift:
- Accept part-time consulting without clarity
- Keep working longer than necessary out of habit
- Reduce hours but never redefine purpose
- Stay busy without being intentional
That creates extended limbo.
Phased retirement done by default feels murky while phased retirement done by design creates momentum.
Emotional Readiness Matters
Interestingly, research shows many Boomers say they’ll retire when they emotionally “feel ready.”
That’s more honest than most financial projections.
Retirement is not just a spreadsheet decision. It’s a developmental transition.
In my coaching work, we don’t rush that process. We design for it. We build the glide path.
Designing Your Glide Path
I often describe retirement in stages:
- Pre-Go — reflection, recalibration, and intentional experimentation before retirement begins
- Go-Go — high energy exploration and contribution in the second phase of retirement
- Slow-Go — simplification and focus in the third phase
- No-Go — support, care, and legacy in phase four
Phased retirement typically sits in the Pre-Go and early Go-Go years.
This is the laboratory where you:
- Test new rhythms
- Try new roles
- Clarify your evolving identity
- Protect your health
- Strengthen key relationships
If this stage is intentional, the decades that follow become far more resilient.
The Forward-Thinking Advantage
The research shows Americans are becoming more intentional about retirement.
That’s encouraging.
But intentionality requires structure, reflection, and conscious design.
The financial industry is excellent at helping you calculate your number. Very few financial planners are helping you design your life.
That’s where Retirement by Design comes in. If you’re in your 50s or early 60s and thinking about reducing pace, redefining work, or stepping into something new — now is the time to design your glide path.
Not react to it.
Because the goal isn’t simply to retire. It’s to build a third act that is purposeful, energizing, and aligned with who you are now — not who you were mid-career.
And that rarely happens by accident.
# # #
Dr. Kevin Nourse is a certified retirement coach helping people flourish in retirement. He founded Nourse Leadership Strategies, a coaching firm based in Southern California. Contact him at 760.237.0045 or kevin@nourseleadership.com
(C) Kevin Nourse, 2026
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This blog is part of a broader body of work on leadership transitions, executive development, and Retirement by Design.