Retirement plans?

I'm seeing an increase in interest in retirement planning in the professional services arena - law, accounting and consulting firms - where partners and senior level individuals have spent long, high demand careers. It's incredibly stressful for someone who has, for a lifetime, worked long hours and identifed themselves as an expert and a resource, to suddenly find themselves at loose ends. A retirement planning program, implemented about five years before the retirement date, helps the individual begin to create their next life phase while gradually easing themselves out of their client relationships. Ideally, in the final year, the individual will be allowed to taper their billable hours and increase their outside interests so the transition is gradual. During this time more junior firm members are introduced to key clients and projects while the retiring individual is still available to act as mentor and continuity. Well managed, retirement becomes attractive and easy. The CEO of a client organization who decided to offer retirement support said that he noticed an immediate re-engagement in the business once those who were starting to fear the change felt that they had support and the beginnnings of a plan, so the benefits to the business are both current and long term. Given the volume of Boomers retiring in the next 5 to 10 years, any organization who offers support will be the beneficiary of better attention on the business right up until the end, as well as the assurance that the transfer of knowledge and wisdom has been managed well.