How financial advisors can smoothly navigate the emotional complexity of stepping away from a life's work
As a financial advisor, helping people plan for their futures is second nature. Calculating nest eggs, navigating the financial complexities of retirement, helping clients transition into their golden years – it’s all part of the job. When it comes to your own post-career transition, though, you may be worrying about what comes next.
According to our recent Advisor Succession Survey, 26% of advisors who don’t have a succession plan cite discomfort about the end of their career as a reason for their hesitation.* Without the daily structure and status that work provides, you’ll need intentional effort – and planning – to find a new purpose in life and reimagine who you are beyond your professional role. "It really comes down to identity" says Brian Lambier, a certified retirement coach with Career Vitality Services in Calgary.
“For many, work has been a central piece of their lives. When you’re so focused on one area, you tend to neglect developing the other parts of yourself.”
Who are you when the work stops?
Believe it or not, your entrepreneurial drive – the same force that propelled you to build your financial advisory business – might actually work against you when you’re finally ready to step down. You’re likely wired to solve complex problems, control outcomes and manage expectations. Retirement? It’s messier than that. It asks you to embrace the unknown, take some personal risks and find ways to measure success beyond building a business.
It’s exciting and scary. "You have this wonderful opportunity to pain the picture as you're doing it, and that's the way it should be." says Lambier.
“You don’t have to go into retirement fully briefed on what you’re going to do all the time. That leaves out the opportunity to grow.”
The challenge of separating yourself from your work identity becomes even more pronounced when your career has been so deeply intertwined with your sense of self. Retirement coaches see this struggle repeatedly.
“The first question I ask entrepreneurs when they come to talk to me about retirement is, ‘Who are you?’” says Roblynn Hunnisett, a certified retirement coach with My Life Counselling in Guelph. “Everyone, 100 per cent of the time, will automatically tell me what they do [for work] – and that’s not the question.”
When people dig deeper, something shifts. Try jotting down a list of what matters to you beyond your business. Move from describing your professional function to describing your personal roles and traits – about being loyal and compassionate, parents or grandparents, athletes, artists or someone longing to give back.
“It’s being able to stop identifying yourself by what you did, and start identifying yourself by who you really are,” says Lambier. “That’s a big difference.”
Planning for social connection
Concerns about social isolation may also pop up when retirement is on the horizon. These can be especially acute for business owners who have worked independently and built social connections and status primarily through professional contacts.
“People are often really worried that they’re not going to connect with anybody once they retire, and that’s a scary thing,” Lambier notes.
These feelings are normal for everyone approaching retirement, but as an independent advisor, you also face a unique emotional hurdle: the relationships you’ve cultivated with your clients. These connections often extend beyond mere business transactions, creating a web of personal investment that can make stepping away feel like abandonment.
“It can come with a lot of guilt and shame,” says Hunnisett of the transition process. “This is a relationship. It takes a lot for someone to trust you with their money.”
A well-planned succession allows you to effectively communicate your transition to your clients, introduce them to their new advisor and help them adjust to the change over time. A strong plan will keep you in control of the process, allowing your clients to feel more secure and reducing your guilt about stepping back.
Redesigning your day-to-day
Once you’ve worked through the emotional transition, you’ll face a practical challenge: reimagining your daily routine. Without the familiarity of your work-life routine, the prospect of filling your time might feel daunting. The temptation might be to replace work hours with an equally rigid schedule, but retirement offers the opportunity for exploration.
That doesn’t mean gentle structure won’t be helpful – regular exercise or volunteer commitments can give your days some shape without overwhelming rigidity. But Lambier recommends taking the first few months to allow new activities and friends to emerge organically as you begin your internal transition.
Use these early days to experiment with things you’ve always wanted to try. If you define yourself as artistic, try a life drawing class at your local art gallery. Miss analytical challenges? Non-profit boards often need financial oversight expertise.
The most fulfilling retirement activities often serve multiple purposes simultaneously: social connection, personal fulfilment and the opportunity to use your hard-earned life experience. It’s not about replicating your old job – it’s about channelling what you’ve learned over the years into pursuits that energize you.
Perhaps the biggest mindset shift involves getting comfortable with uncertainty. This may contradict everything your professional experience has taught you, but it opens possibilities you may never have previously considered.
“It’s about finding that awe,” Lambier says. Think of kids playing in a sandbox or with a couple of stones, and they’re happy. They’re looking at something for the first time and seeing it through new eyes. That’s what retirement is about – seeing life through new eyes.” Hunnisett frames it as the ultimate question:
“How are you going to live a joy-filled life, and what does that look like to you? You’re never too old to dream.”
Listen to stories from other advisors (like you) who have successfully navigated their succession: Ron Harvey, Retired and former IPC Advisor, Diane Groves, Retired and former IPC Advisor, Jason Simpson and Stephanie Power on Transitioning in Succession, Ken and Ryan White on Succession within the family, Succession Planning with Bill Black.
*IPC Advisor Succession Planning Survey methodology: 361 English- and French-speaking advisors from across Canada were sent an email invitation to complete an online survey. Each email contained a link to the survey, which was hosted on a secure website managed by Environics. *Conducted for IPC by Environics Research Group and Pollara Strategic Insight, 2025
