New Book Research • Retirement • Identity • Behavioural Finance
The Next Chapter: Rethinking Retirement and Rewriting Identity
Many successful people are financially ready to retire—yet find themselves postponing the decision. This book explores the behavioural barriers that keep people in the ‘one-more-year’ cycle, and what makes a ‘Next Chapter’ feel both meaningful and real.
Why this book?
How and why saving enough money isn’t enough
Retirement is more than a spreadsheet decision. It’s an identity transition—often from relevance, status, and structure to a more self-directed life. From early indications in my research, timing is a critical inflection point to deal with loss aversion, identity issues, and other common behavioural biases and heuristics.
It isn’t only “Do I have enough?” — it’s “There’s no going back if I get this wrong!”
- How the impact of a catalyst event may be missing
- How inertia and fear of loss work to stall rational plans
- Why ‘more hobbies’ isn’t the same as identity and purpose
What you’ll get from the book
- A behavioural framework for the retirement transition
- Tools to diagnose what’s actually holding you back
- Practical prompts to design a next chapter that feels genuine
- Stories and patterns from people at the threshold
Want to contribute?
Start thinking about your unique situation with our survey and make YOUR retirement experience meaningful.
Who this research is for?
Do any of these sound familiar…
- “I’m ready on paper, but I still have more to contriubte.”
- “I keep moving the date—one more year.”
- “I’m worried I’ll lose relevance, purpose, or identity.”
- “I retired… and then I went back.”
- “It would be a shame to leave behind what I built.”
- “I still have more to contribute/learn.”
The single best way to help…
Contribute by completing the survey. Results will shape the framework, tools, and personal stories in the book.
This anonymous survey supports independent research I’m conducting separate and apart from my dealer firm. It’s for research and educational purposes only—not investment advice. Please don’t include any personal, account, or identifying information.
What’s inside (draft)
Introduction — If I’m ready, why am I not retiring?
Identity, inertia, and the hidden costs of stepping away.
Part I — When freedom feels like loss
- The retirement paradox-a reminder that I’m no longer building my life
- Why financially ready isn’t ready enough
- The identity you built—and the one you haven’t met yet
Part II — What makes retirement meaningful
- Capstone thinking and the psychology of completion
- False starts and the “one more year” loop
- A practical resistance toolkit
Part III — Building a life worth retiring into
- Beyond the hobby
- Relationships, power shifts, and shared futures
- Your next chapter (tools and prompts that bring YOU meaning)
Ready to contribute?
Your answers help identify patterns across identity, relationships, status, risk, and meaning.
About the author
Coreen T. Sol, CFA, senior portfolio manager and behavioural finance educator. This book draws on research, stories, and anonymized survey insights to understand why retirement can be so difficult for capable, driven people, then offers tools to make the transition fulfilling.