Alan Roadburg, Ph.D.
Dr. Alan Roadburg is a retirement lifestyle researcher and educator who has spent more than 25 years studying what makes life satisfying after full-time work ends.
He earned his Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Edinburgh and served for over a decade as a tenured professor at Dalhousie University, where he taught and conducted research in Social Gerontology, the Sociology of Retirement, and Leisure Studies. He later served as an Adjunct Professor at Simon Fraser University.
While in academia, Dr. Roadburg began researching a question that traditional retirement planning was not addressing:
What replaces the psychological and social rewards people lose when they stop working?
His early research involved in-depth interviews with 400 retirees and led to the publication of Work and Leisure in Retirement. The findings revealed that retirement satisfaction depends less on financial readiness alone and more on replacing purpose, structure, identity, and meaningful engagement.
Recognizing a gap between academic research and real-world retirement planning, Dr. Roadburg made a pivotal decision. He left his tenured university position to bring research-based lifestyle planning directly to individuals, professionals, and organizations.
He developed the Second Career Retirement Program and later Life Goal Planning — a structured, evidence-based approach designed to help retirees intentionally design a meaningful second stage of life.
More recently, he conducted a large-scale survey of 2,400 higher-income retirees, including physicians, dentists, teachers, police officers, and senior professionals. This research further refined his understanding of what creates long-term satisfaction in retirement and now forms the foundation of:
• The Life After Work book series
• The Perfect Retirement Program
• Workshops delivered to corporations, associations, government agencies, and financial advisory practices across North America
Dr. Roadburg’s work focuses on a simple but often overlooked truth:
Retirement is not only a financial transition — it is a life transition.
His programs help individuals replace the rewards of work with new sources of meaning, contribution, connection, and personal growth.
In addition to the Life After Work book series, Dr. Roadburg’s earlier publications include What Are You Doing After Work? (commissioned by a mutual fund company) and Aging (based on research with 400 elderly subjects).
John Klaas
Associate
- Adjunct Professor,
is the only Canadian national financial services firm that focuses solely on the unique needs of physicians and their families.
Dr. Harvey Sternberg
Physician Advisor
Assistant Clinical Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Alberta (retired)
Founder of the Glen Sather Sport Medicine Clinic at the University of Alberta
Dr. Sternberg is a retired physician who has reviewed the Life After Medicine program, offering insights from his clinical practice and his transition into retirement.