Preparing for retirement psychologically means anticipating what work provided (a role, a rhythm, relationships) and deciding what you want to build in its place. Ideally, you should start at least a year before leaving, to test out projects while you're still working.
Maintaining a routine, connections, and meaningful activities helps during the first few months. A skills assessment or coaching can support this stage.
Preparing for retirement psychologically, It's about anticipating what you'll lose by leaving your job (a role, a routine, relationships) and deciding what you want to build next. Leaving is anticipated for years, then it happens in a single day, and many people are surprised by how they feel.
In this article, we explain why this transition is so disruptive, at what age to start preparing for it, and what questions to ask yourself. We also discuss the fear of retirement and the first few months, and how support can help.
Why is the transition to retirement so disruptive?
Work gives you status, a schedule, and a network of relationships. Retirement takes them away on the same day.
First, there's the question you're asked at a dinner party: «"And what do you do?"». For forty years, you had a simple answer. Overnight, it's gone, and a part of your professional identity is shaken.
Then there's the rhythm. Waking up, meetings, deadlines structured your weeks. Without them, the days can seem long, or on the contrary, fly by without you knowing why.
Your professional circle also fades away. Colleagues carry on without you, news arrives less frequently, and you then realize the importance these relationships held.
Finally, the couple's life changes. Two people who used to spend their days apart must reinvent how they live together.
«"We thought we knew each other, but in fact we were constantly at each other's throats. It almost fell apart. We had to adjust the way we viewed our daily lives, both together and separately."»
The phrase we hear most often, however, can be summed up in a few words: «"I'm no longer going to be of any use to anyone."» It says the essence of what is worrying: the feeling of usefulness, more than money or free time.
At what age should you start preparing for retirement?
Start at least one year before departure, and earlier if you can: you'll have time to test projects while you're still working.
A year is enough time to explore your interests, try volunteering, research training programs, or start a micro-business, without the pressure of leaving. Two or three years is even better if you're considering a project that requires extensive training.
A meeting can serve as a starting point: the career development interview that your employer must organize in the two years preceding your 60th birthday (Article L6315-1 of the Labour CodeIt addresses job retention and end-of-career arrangements, such as part-time work or phased retirement. It's a good time to think about what comes next, and to come up with some ideas.
Another reason not to wait: Your training account remains usable until your official departure date, then it is closed.. We explain how in another article. using your CPF before retirement.
Questions to ask yourself before leaving
Before you leave, a few simple questions can help you see what you want to keep, stop, and start:
- What will I miss? The contacts, the responsibilities, the structure?
- What is it that I no longer want to live?
- What have I put aside that I want to do?
- What will a typical week look like?
- Do I want to keep an activity, paid or voluntary?
Take the time to answer it in writing, then discuss it with your loved ones. The answers often evolve over a few weeks, and that's normal: they gradually shape your life project.
Michel, 60, an engineer in a large energy company, had a very clear fear when he came to see us: finding himself with nothing to do once he retired. But he didn't know what to do instead. By answering these questions, he understood that he didn't want to stop everything all at once, and that he needed to remain useful, both in his work and outside of it.
Anonymized route
Fear of retirement: how to avoid the depression of the first few months
To get through the first few months well, maintain a rhythm, connections and a project that has meaning for you.
- Keep track of time throughout the day : a set time to get up, a walk, a regular appointment during the week. However, there's no point in filling your diary to avoid thinking about emptiness: an overloaded schedule postpones the question instead of answering it.
- Maintain relationships outside of work, And join new groups: an association, a club, a choir, a class. Volunteering often restores that sense of purpose that work used to provide. Putting aside hobbies and engaging in physical activity also have their place, for both body and mind.
- If you live as a couple, Before leaving, talk to each other about how you'll organize your time: shared moments, each person's activities, and the different areas of the house. What's obvious to one person isn't always obvious to the other.
Certain signs should raise concern: disturbed sleep, irritability, social withdrawal, a loss of interest in things you used to enjoy. If sadness or anxiety persists for several weeks, talk to your doctor or a psychologist. They are the ones who can assess the situation and offer appropriate support.
Getting support to enjoy a fulfilling retirement
A skills assessment helps to transform these questions into a project, with someone to guide the thinking.
It's sometimes said that a skills assessment isn't useful for preparing for retirement, since retirement isn't a career change. However, retirement is a life project, and like any transition, it's best prepared with support. As long as you are not retired, you can have a skills assessment financed by your CPF (Personal Training Account).
We learn about ourselves throughout our lives, and at 55, 60 or 65, taking stock of our potential helps us to bounce back. During the assessment, we explore with you your interests, what motivates you, your skills, your values, your personality and your emotional intelligence. The goal is for you to build your project around who you are, to enjoy this period at your own pace, according to your constraints and needs.
We then identify the activities that suit you and compare them to reality through field research.. We take into account your overall life balance: where you will live according to the seasons, the place you want to give to your family, your leisure activities, your travels, an association, or training or a micro-enterprise. You leave with a written summary and a realistic action plan.
For Michel, this work led to three projects carried out in parallel: a part-time job as a consultant for his company, a guesthouse, and volunteering in the bicycle repair workshop in his community.
Our article on the benefits of taking a skills assessment at 55 tells the rest of his story.
For this step, we propose our skills assessment Choosing Yourself 10 sessions and 18 hours of support over approximately 3 months, eligible for CPF funding. Among its optional modules, the module New impetus combines the assessment with 4 one-hour sessions of neurofeedback, In person at La Boisse (01), to recharge before building the next phase. If you want to know how it works neurofeedback, We explain this in a dedicated article.
Let's be clear: coaching is not therapy. It doesn't treat trauma or psychological symptoms. It's future-oriented, and it helps people regain momentum, energy, and motivation when they feel down or stuck.
Are you already retired? Your CPF is closed, but other formats remain possible, financed by your personal funds: individual coaching, a Se Choisir or Clarté Pro assessment, a short format like Déclic Pro (one session of 1.5 to 2 hours) or L'Essentiel (5 sessions over 6 weeks).
You can also write to us via our contact form for a free initial exchange.
Your questions
By maintaining a schedule and a few regular appointments during the week, without overloading your calendar, getting up at a fixed time, doing some physical activity, committing to a weekly routine, and choosing your own free time are often enough to get back into a rhythm. If you live with a partner, also schedule time for each of you.
By finding a balance between all the pillars of your life: love, friendship, family, leisure, social contribution, professional or volunteer activities. When one of these pillars takes over completely, or when another disappears, the balance falters. Retirement is the time to redistribute them, according to what matters most to you.
By preparing for retirement and maintaining a routine, connections, and a meaningful project (see the section "Fear of Retirement" above). If sadness or anxiety persists for several weeks, talk to your doctor or a psychologist.
