I help adults 50+ design a Next Act that protects their healthspan and unlocks the true potential of their home.

Most people are quietly anxious about retirement.
Their house holds a huge chunk of their net worth, their body doesn’t bounce back like it used to, and their parents’ “age in place and hope for the best” strategy doesn’t look so appealing up close.

I work at the intersection of those two realities—health and home.

I’m Rachael Van Pelt, PhD: a former healthspan scientist turned Realtor, coach, and host of the Next Act Ninjas podcast. My work is dedicated to helping 50+ adults rightsize their home, health, and finances so they can extend not just lifespan, but lifestyle longevity—the number of years they can actually live the life they want.

Why I care about your “Go-Strong” years

For over 20 years, I led clinical trials at the University of Colorado studying how aging, hormones, metabolism, and exercise affect health and independence in midlife and beyond.

I watched the same pattern repeat:

• People underestimated how fast strength and mobility can decline.
• They overestimated how long they could “wait and see” before making big changes.
• And they often died with a fully paid-off house, a cluttered environment that stressed their adult children, and years of potential capacity left on the table.

At the same time, I saw something else in the data:
There’s a window in your late 50s and 60s—what I call the Go-Strong decade—when your options are widest:

• Your wealth is often peaking, especially in home equity.
• Your health is still plastic: strength, mobility, and metabolic health can be improved, not just maintained.
• Your decisions about where and how you live have an outsized impact on the next 20–30 years.

That window is where I focus my work.

From healthspan scientist to Realtor and coach

People sometimes ask, “Why would a PhD scientist become a Realtor?”

Because in the real world, I saw that the home is one of the most powerful—and overlooked—levers for longevity.

Your floor plan, neighborhood, stairs, walkability, social proximity, and financial stress load all shape:

• How much you move (or don’t)
• How isolated or connected you feel
• How quickly minor health issues become major ones
• How long your money realistically lasts

So instead of publishing more papers that your doctor might or might not read, I decided to work directly with the people who actually live this.

Today, I combine:

• 20+ years of research and clinical trial experience in aging, metabolism, and women’s health
• On-the-ground expertise as a licensed Realtor and real estate investor
• Coaching and strategy for people who don’t just want to “retire” but want to build a Next Act that’s physically, emotionally, and financially sustainable

I’m not here to sell you a house. I’m here to help you use your house and your health strategically in this next chapter.

What I believe (and how that shapes my work)

A few core principles drive everything I do:

• Retirement is not a finish line; it’s a design problem.
  The old model of stopping work, staying put, and hoping your body cooperates doesn’t match modern longevity.
• Your best decisions happen before crisis.
  Waiting until you’re forced to move, forced to sell, or forced into assisted living is the most expensive and least dignified path.
• Healthspan and wealthspan are inseparable.
  A paid-off house doesn’t help if your knees can’t handle the stairs. A high portfolio balance doesn’t fix an isolating, car-dependent location.
• Rightsizing is expansive, not reductive.
  I’m not interested in “shrinking your life.” I’m interested in right-sizing your environment so you can do more of what matters, for longer, with less friction.

If that resonates, you’re in the right place.

How I can help you

Depending on where you are in your journey, we might work together in a few ways:

• Lifestyle Longevity Strategy Session
  A focused 1:1 call where we map your Go-Strong decade, assess how well your current home fits your future, and outline your best next steps—whether that’s moving, staying, or unlocking equity strategically.
• Ongoing Lifestyle Longevity / Rightsizing Coaching
  Month-to-month support to help you prepare your body, your home, and your finances for a major transition—without burning out, stalling out, or sleepwalking into regret.
• Real estate representation and referrals
  For Colorado clients, I can directly represent you in selling and buying. For out-of-area clients, I help you clarify your strategy and then connect you with local agents who understand rightsizing, not just transactions.
• The Next Act Ninjas podcast
  Weekly episodes that blend science, stories, and strategy to help you rethink retirement, strengthen your body, and make smarter decisions about home and equity.

A more honest, data-informed way to think about your Next Act

My approach isn’t about fear, doom, or magical thinking.

It’s about being honest with the data—on aging, healthspan, and housing—and using it to design a life that fits:

• Your body (what it needs now, and what it will likely need later)
• Your brain (purpose, identity, and mental health)
• Your bank (income, equity, and risk tolerance)
• Your base (the literal home and neighborhood you live in)

I call this your Lifestyle Longevity Blueprint. And my job is to help you build it before time and circumstance make the decisions for you.

If you’re ready to think differently about your future

If you’re a homeowner in your 50s, 60s, or early 70s and you sense that “doing nothing” is actually the riskiest option, we should talk.

Book a Strategy Session
We’ll look at your current home, health, and timeline—and explore whether rightsizing, house-hacking, or a smarter version of staying put is the best move for your Next Act.

You don’t need another generic “retirement checklist.”
You need a clear, science-informed strategy for turning your Go-Strong years into something you won’t look back on and wish you’d used differently.