Late-Career Conversations with Fexingo: 50+ Professionals, Encore Careers, and Pre-Retirement

In Episode 29 of Late-Career Conversations, Lucas and Luna break down the key elements of a consulting agreement for professionals over 50 moving into fractional or project-based work. Using the real example of a former IT director who negotiated a six-month consulting contract with a mid-sized manufacturer, they cover scope of work, payment terms, intellectual property, non-compete clauses, and t...

Episode 28 of Late-Career Conversations with Fexingo: 50+ Professionals, Encore Careers, and Pre-Retirement. Lucas and Luna dive into the art of negotiating severance after 50 — a skill that can add tens of thousands of dollars to your late-career runway. They break down a real-world case: a 57-year-old marketing director who secured six months of salary, extended health benefits, and outplacement...

In this episode of Late-Career Conversations, hosts Lucas and Luna explore the concept of a 'portfolio career' for professionals over 50. Instead of one full-time job, you combine multiple part-time roles, consulting projects, board seats, and passion projects. Lucas shares the story of Diane, a 58-year-old former marketing VP who now teaches one university course, serves on two nonprofit boards,...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore an underused strategy for professionals over 50: converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA during a low-income year between jobs or in early semi-retirement. They walk through the mechanics, the tax math, and the five-year rule, using the example of a 57-year-old marketing director who took a consulting contract and converted $50,000 at a 12% marginal rate....

Episode 25 of Late-Career Conversations with Fexingo. Lucas and Luna break down the art of structuring a consulting agreement when you transition from employee to independent expert after 50. They walk through a real case: a 58-year-old former supply chain VP who landed a 12-month fractional consulting gig with a mid-size manufacturer. Lucas explains the three essential clauses—scope of work, paym...

Many 50-plus professionals think networking stops mattering past a certain age. Lucas and Luna argue the opposite: your network is your most valuable late-career asset, but the rules change. They drill into a specific case: a 58-year-old former operations director named Carol who landed a fractional COO role at a mid-sized manufacturer—not through LinkedIn or job boards, but by reactivating dorman...

Episode 23 of Late-Career Conversations explores how professionals over 50 can package their decades of experience into paid advisory roles, fractional gigs, and paid speaking engagements without committing to a new full-time career. Lucas and Luna focus on the case of a former HR director who, at 58, built a $75,000-a-year portfolio of three fractional advisory clients and occasional keynote spea...

Episode 22 of Late-Career Conversations with Fexingo tackles the practical side of becoming a consultant after 50. Lucas and Luna walk through the story of Diane, a former HR director at a mid-sized manufacturing firm who built a $200,000 consulting operation in 18 months after being laid off at 57. They break down the four steps she used: leveraging her network of former peers, pricing her first...

Episode 21 of Late-Career Conversations with Fexingo: 50+ Professionals, Encore Careers, and Pre-Retirement. Lucas and Luna explore a specific, low-cost strategy for gaining new skills after 50: the skill swap. They examine a real case—a 58-year-old accountant in Boston who traded tax-prep sessions for Spanish lessons with a language teacher—and break down how to structure, value, and find these e...

In this episode of Late-Career Conversations, Lucas and Luna explore how professionals over 50 can use a structured skill inventory to pivot careers—without starting from zero. They walk through the real case of a 54-year-old supply chain director named Patricia who, after 28 years at a Midwest manufacturing firm, used a skill audit to land a part-time role at a climate-tech startup. Lucas breaks...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how professionals over 50 can successfully negotiate remote or hybrid work arrangements. They discuss the specific leverage points older workers have—like experience, reliability, and institutional knowledge—and share concrete strategies for making the ask. The conversation centers on a real-world case: a 58-year-old IT project manager who transitioned to fu...

Lucas and Luna explore the fractional executive path through the story of Diane, a 55-year-old former client services director at a mid-sized ad agency. After a layoff, she pivoted to fractional CMO work, landing three retainer clients within five months. The hosts break down her transition: how she identified her niche (B2B professional services firms with $10-50 million in revenue), how she pric...

Fractional executive roles—part-time C-suite positions—are booming in 2026. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore why companies hire fractional CFOs, CMOs, and CTOs, and how experienced professionals over 50 can package their expertise into six-figure fractional engagements. Lucas breaks down the economics: a typical fractional CFO earns $5,000 to $15,000 per month per client, with many holding...

In this episode of Late-Career Conversations with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore how 50-plus professionals can effectively use a career coach to navigate the final chapter of their working life. They discuss what to look for in a coach, the difference between coaching and therapy, and how to set clear goals. The conversation features a case study of a 56-year-old marketing director who used a coa...

Lucas and Luna explore how temporary staffing agencies, often overlooked by older professionals, can be a strategic bridge to full-time work after 50. They discuss the shift from traditional temp work to professional interim placements, using specific data from the American Staffing Association showing that 66% of temp assignments lead to permanent offers. They highlight how agencies like Robert H...

In this episode of Late-Career Conversations, Lucas and Luna dissect the real mechanics of age discrimination in the modern job market. They look at a 2024 AARP study showing that 64 percent of workers over 50 report seeing or experiencing age bias on the job hunt. The conversation zeroes in on the subtle signals employers send—like listing 'recent college grad' in a role requiring 10 years of exp...

Episode 13 of Late-Career Conversations with Fexingo explores a fresh angle for professionals over 50: the structured sabbatical. Lucas and Luna break down how a six-month unpaid leave can serve as a deliberate reset—not a pause, but a strategic move to test a second act, regain energy, or retool. They discuss the case of a 54-year-old marketing executive who negotiated a sabbatical to launch a no...

In this episode of Late-Career Conversations, Lucas and Luna explore the underappreciated strategy of mentoring as a career reinvention tool for professionals over 50. They dive into a case study from General Electric's retired executives program, which placed 50-plus mentors in underserved schools and community colleges, leading to unexpected career pivots for the mentors themselves. Lucas shares...

Lucas and Luna explore how professionals over 50 can land corporate and nonprofit board seats, turning decades of experience into governance roles. The episode walks through the specific steps: identifying the right board type, crafting a board-ready bio, and networking through director databases and professional associations. Luna shares how a former marketing executive used her industry expertis...

In this episode of Late-Career Conversations, Lucas and Luna explore how professionals over 50 can monetize their hobbies without turning them into a grind. The hosts focus on the case of Barbara, a 58-year-old IT project manager who turned her weekend woodworking into a $30,000-a-year side business selling custom cutting boards on Etsy. They discuss practical steps: how to test demand before inve...

Many professionals over 50 dream of a second-act career but are afraid to leave the security of their current role. Lucas and Luna explore how to run low-risk experiments—through project-based work, pro-bono consulting, and paid side gigs—while still employed. They walk through the story of Dave, a 57-year-old marketing executive who spent 12 months testing a nonprofit consulting career before mak...

Episode 8 of Late-Career Conversations: Lucas and Luna unpack the rules around earning income while collecting Social Security before full retirement age. Using the case of a 63-year-old former teacher who lost 40 percent of her benefit to the earnings test, they explain the annual exempt amount, how the penalty recalculates later, and why many retirees accidentally leave money on the table. They...

Episode 7 of Late-Career Conversations tackles the art of negotiating a part-time role as a 50-plus professional. Lucas and Luna break down the specific leverage points—pension bridges, benefits trade-offs, and the 'candidate scarcity' argument—using a concrete case: a 58-year-old marketing director who successfully reduced her hours at a Fortune 500 company without sacrificing her senior title. T...

In this episode of Late-Career Conversations, Lucas and Luna explore encore fellowships — paid, time-limited placements at nonprofits or social enterprises for experienced professionals over 50. Lucas explains how these programs differ from internships or volunteering, using the example of Encore.org's Fellowship for Social Impact, which has placed over 1,000 professionals since its launch. He sha...

In this episode of Late-Career Conversations, Lucas and Luna explore how professionals over 50 can strategically reinvent their personal brand to stay relevant and competitive in the job market. They discuss the shift from a traditional resume to a narrative that highlights adaptability, wisdom, and transferable skills. Using the example of a former marketing director who successfully rebranded he...