What advisors can learn from midlife transition programs

Across North America, elite universities are quietly reshaping how we think about midlife and retirement, not through research papers or policy, but by launching immersive programs for leaders in transition.

These are not degree-granting programs. They are life-design experiences helping accomplished professionals explore what’s next through a mix of structured reflection, peer learning, purpose-driven projects and community.

They’re gaining traction fast. In fact, there are now more than 20 midlife transition programs offered globally from Harvard and Cambridge, to Notre Dame and the University of Colorado Denver. The trend started at elite institutions, but it is expanding into a broader range of universities and colleges, proving that the need for purposeful transition support is widespread.

These programs offer something the financial services industry urgently needs: a broader view of retirement planning. Advisors who want to stay relevant in the era of 100-year lives should pay attention.

For decades, the dominant questions in financial planning have been when the client can retire, and how much they will need to get there — important, but incomplete.

Today’s clients are navigating more than a financial shift. They recognize that they’re stepping into unfamiliar territory, leaving behind roles that once defined them. And they still feel the pull toward continued purpose, contribution and growth. They’re not looking to stop. They’re looking to reset and reimagine.

That’s exactly where these programs begin.

A growing movement

I served on the advisory board of Yale’s Experienced Leaders Initiative. It’s a six-month hybrid program designed to help individuals in their 50s and 60s step confidently into their next chapter. These are people who’ve had successful careers but still have more to offer.

The structure is thoughtful: two immersive in-person retreats, live virtual sessions, curated peer groups and a capstone impact project. The goal is to help participants move from aspiration to action with clarity, confidence and community.

At Stanford’s Distinguished Careers Institute (DCI), a pioneering program now in its 10th year, participants explore three pillars: renewing purpose, building community and recalibrating health and wellness. The DCI model blends academic learning with reflective practice, offering tools like memoir writing, purpose pathways and life-design workshops.

University of Chicago’s Leadership and Society Initiative offers the Imagine Pathway, a retreat-based experience designed for leaders who are still working but want to begin reflecting on what’s next. With quarterly in-person gatherings, coaching and peer learning groups, participants create a “Next Chapter Compass” to guide their future.

Stephen Blewitt, the former chief investment officer and head of private markets at Manulife Investment Management is quoted on the University of Chicago’s website promoting the program: “It’s an opportunity to look at my life and be very introspective — about myself, what my values are and what I really want to do with the next 20 years,” he wrote.

These programs offer unique approaches, but shared goals: to support reinvention, foster intergenerational community and treat this life stage not as a wind-down, but a time for continued contribution.

Value for advisors

These programs signal what growth-minded, curious clients are craving: structure, exploration, meaning and peer connection.

They attract c-suite executives, board members, physicians and entrepreneurs — the same client groups advisors seek to serve. There’s an opportunity for advisors to apply the best practices these programs have developed to better serve their clients.

Three suggestions:

1. Create community: What if advisory firms offered their own reinvention workshops or life-design retreats for clients entering this stage?
2. Expand the conversation: What if financial planning included next-chapter visioning sessions, where spouses reflect on shared purpose, not just shared accounts?
3. Design for reinvention: Help clients build flexible financial plans that support experimentation, career pivots or impact projects, not just retirement withdrawals.

Advisors don’t need to be life coaches, but they can be catalysts. And they can help build the scaffolding that so many clients in transition are looking for.

Universities around the world are building what the financial industry still lacks: a structured path for people transitioning from success to significance. These programs remind us that retirement is no longer a finish line; it’s a new beginning.

Financial planning will always require rigour, modelling and sound advice. But to truly serve clients in the era of longer lives, we need to expand the playbook. We need to move from technical planning to holistic guidance, integrating purpose, health, identity and community into the conversation.