Fidelity identified three phases pre-retirees go through before retirement. These phases are not necessarily age based, as some 60 year olds have college-aged children and some 40 year olds have grandchildren. Still, they're useful for planning, she said. The phases correspond to conquering a mountain (think Everest):

Climbing: 10 plus years from retirement. They're happy with job, their finances outweigh all factors. They have debt, they have dependents. You wouldn't see someone quit because they had a grandchild. In this phase the financial factors outweigh all factors.
Base camp: 2 to 9 years from retirement. Things are clearer. They're reducing debt. They're not necessarily looking for new opportunities. Their health may be waning but is manageable.
Summit: 2 years out from retirement. No financial dependents. Reduced debt. They aren't updating their resume. This is where they might up and quit if they had a bad day or bad weather or other factors.

Fidelity figured out what employees in each phase need as far as help:

Climbing: want to create financial plan, want to work part time with benefits, needs to understand Social Security.
Base camp: want a financial plan, want to understand health care in retirement, what retirement options are there, more about Social Security.
Summit: "A big barrier to exiting the workforce is a lack of comfort with the retirement benefits accrued," Thompson said. "If they do have a significant balance, you can help them understand the issues affecting their retirement and help them feel more comfortable retiring."

The challenge is to engage with people in whatever phase they're in, Thompson said. "You have to ask about more than finances. It's going a little deeper."

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