Next Stage

Work out what comes next — before retirement decides for you

Next Stage is a guided programme for people over 50 who know they don’t want to carry on by default, but aren’t yet sure whether to stay, leave, change direction or retire. Work through the options, decide what makes sense for you, and leave with a practical plan for what happens next.

Next Stage is a paid 8-week small-group programme. The full programme costs £997. Joining the waitlist is free and doesn't commit you to buying. You'll hear first when the next places open.

Why I created Next Stage — and who it’s for

The difficult part isn't knowing something needs to change. It's knowing what.

For many people over 50, retirement may still be 10–15 years away. The question isn’t just whether to stay or leave — it’s what you want those years to look like and what’s realistically possible.

And the problem you first notice isn’t always the one you actually need to solve.

Next Stage helps you get clear on what matters most, explore the options open to you and work out what makes sense before making a bigger decision.

You do not have to be ready to quit, retire or make a major change.

You can join while you're still unsure.

Next Stage gives you a structured way to work out what actually needs to change, explore what’s realistic and decide what your next step should be.

What Next Stage helps you work out

  • Understand what is actually making you question your current direction

  • Separate genuine constraints from assumptions

  • Explore realistic options

  • Test important unknowns before making a bigger decision

  • Reach a clearer direction and know what to do next

The aim is to stop drifting and make a deliberate choice about what comes next — rather than simply letting the next 10 or 15 years happen

You won’t be rushed into an answer

Decisions about the next stage of work and life usually need more than one conversation.

Next Stage gives you time between sessions to reflect, investigate what is realistically possible and come back with better information and better questions.

Each session builds on the last, helping you move from uncertainty towards a clearer direction and a practical plan for what comes next.

A decision that could shape the next 10 or 15 years of your life is worth taking the time to work through properly.

Learn from how other people are working through similar decisions

You will not be expected to share anything personal, but you can still benefit from the questions, examples and experiences of other people working through similar choices.

  • Hear how others are thinking about work, money, change and what comes next after 50

  • Learn from questions and perspectives you may not have considered yourself

  • See how other people are exploring their options and dealing with similar uncertainties

  • Benefit from the discussion even when someone else’s situation is different from your own

The group side is built around useful shared learning, not pressure to participate or disclose anything you would rather keep private.

Designed to fit around a working life

Most people considering Next Stage are already busy with work, family and other responsibilities. The programme is deliberately structured to give you enough time and support to make meaningful progress without turning the next eight weeks into another job.

  • Six 60–90 minute live group sessions across the eight weeks, each focused on the stage of the process you are working through.

  • One week is deliberately left free of live sessions to give you space to complete a focused “What Comes Next” task and explore possible directions in your own time.

  • Time between sessions is deliberate. It gives you space to reflect, notice what is happening in real life and, where useful, test or investigate something before the next conversation.

  • No course to work through and no piles of homework. Anything between sessions is focused, practical and only used when it helps move your situation forward.

  • The work stays centred on your actual circumstances, not generic lessons or exercises for the sake of completing a programme.

Eight weeks gives us enough time to understand what is really going on, explore realistic options and turn that thinking into a practical direction without forcing decisions before you are ready.

Is Next Stage right for you?

Next Stage is likely to suit you if you're over 50, know you don't want to simply carry on by default, but don't yet have enough certainty to make a sensible decision. You need to be willing to look properly at your situation, question some assumptions and explore realistic options before deciding what to do.

It probably isn't right for you if you're looking for somebody to tell you to quit your job or retire, if you already know exactly what you want and simply need help implementing it, or if you're looking for financial, pension, tax or investment advice.

Why I’m running Next Stage

I created Over-50 Reset after leaving a long career at 53 and having to work out my own approach to what came next.

Since then, the work has been shaped by ongoing conversations with people facing similar questions through the Over-50 Reset channel and website, alongside completing the TQUK Level 3 Award in Coaching and Mentoring (RQF).

I’ve also been featured on BBC Radio’s Late Show with Becky Want, broadcast across the BBC local radio network.

What’s included in Next Stage

guided small-group programme designed to help you work through what comes next, reach a clearer direction and leave with a practical plan.

The aim is a thoughtful, structured process, not a high-pressure programme.

  • A guided process with a clear start, finish and outcome built around helping you reach your own decisions about what comes next

  • Six live group sessions with Wayne across the eight weeks, using your real situation, questions and decisions rather than generic teaching

  • A dedicated “What Comes Next” week to complete a focused task, reflect on what you’ve uncovered and explore possible directions before moving on.

  • A clear starting point so the process begins with where you are now, what is making you question your current direction and what you need to work out.

  • One private 30-minute session with Wayne for something that would benefit from individual discussion

  • Time between sessions to reflect and investigate so you are not expected to reach important decisions in a single conversation

  • A clearer next-stage direction and written Next Stage Plan bringing together what you have worked out and what happens next

  • Continued access to the Next Stage community with ongoing discussion, useful resources and occasional expert-led sessions

  • Kollab app access — use Next Stage on your phone as well as on desktop, with easy access to live sessions, the community, resources, updates and member messaging.

The cost

£997

for the full 8-week Next Stage programme

Be the first to know when Next Stage opens

Leave your name and email and I’ll let you know when the next places become available.

There’s no payment or commitment to join.

Wayne Phipps

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© 2026 Wayne Phipps. All rights reserved.

Wayne Phipps

Practical reflections on work, money and direction after 50.

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Next Stage

© 2026 Wayne Phipps. All rights reserved.

Minimum Viable Income

Minimum Viable Income is a simple question: what is the smallest, honest amount of money that would allow you to live a life that feels workable and non‑anxious, for the season you’re in now?

Not a forever number. Not a social‑media number. Just a calm, present‑tense figure that covers your real costs and a bit of breathing room.

When you have this number, a few things often shift:

  • Work ideas that sounded exciting but fragile can suddenly feel realistic.
  • Projects that only make sense in a much wealthier future become easier to gently put down.
  • You can see the difference between "I can’t afford this" and "I’m choosing not to prioritise this."

If you’d like to look at your own Minimum Viable Income, the Clarity session is one place to do that slowly and without performance pressure.

Noise vs Clarity

A lot of productive, kind people live with a constant background hum of "I should be doing more." This is noise, not guidance.

Clarity, in contrast, is usually quieter and less dramatic. It often sounds like: "This is enough for now." or "That would be nice, but it doesn’t need to happen this year."

One useful question is: if this thought became permanently true, would my life feel more spacious or more cramped?

In Clarity sessions we’re not trying to silence every anxious thought. We’re just trying to tell the difference between useful signals and old, automated noise so your choices can be a little kinder and more deliberate.

Time Drift

Time Drift is what happens when your calendar slowly fills with things you never consciously chose, until your days no longer look like the life you say you want.

No single meeting, obligation, or favour is the problem. It’s the slow tilt. A few degrees off, sustained over months and years.

A gentle way to notice drift is to compare two calendars:

  • Your current, real week.
  • A realistically good week, given your actual responsibilities, that would already feel like a relief.

In Clarity sessions we often map these two weeks side by side and look for the smallest, kindest adjustments that would start to close the gap without pretending your constraints don’t exist.