Celine Egan, the 60 year old CEO and co-owner of wellness brand Juice Plus+ Australia and New Zealand, is frequently asked “When are you going to retire?” She has turned her answer into a national movement, designed to ignite a revolution for women over 55.
Celine Egan
Celine launched Second Half Women on FIRE, a multi-channel platform starting with a flagship podcast on International Women’s Day. Challenging the “quiet ageism” that permeates the Australian workforce, the platform seeks to empower women to reclaim their purpose, power, and wealth in the second half of their lives.
Celine said:
“I often get asked when I’m going to slow down. But the first half of my life was just an apprenticeship. The second half is where I get to turn decades of wisdom into my greatest advantage. For women over 55, this era is a green light to bigger and better things, not a signal to fade into the background.
Asking a woman when she’s going to retire isn’t a polite question, it’s an outdated cultural assumption that her value has expired. I’m here to tell those women that 60 is a green light. We aren’t winding down; we are expanding.”
Despite their experience, the statistics for women over 55 are stark:
• The employment gap: Only 1 in 7 women over 55 seeking work are likely to find it.
• Economic impact: If just 5% more people over 55 were employed, the Australian economy would grow by AU$48 billion annually.
• The crisis: Women over 55 remain the fastest-growing group experiencing homelessness in Australia, often due to a lack of financial autonomy following divorce or job loss.
The FIRE acronym traditionally stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. Celine is reclaiming it to represent women on fire with purpose, refusing to accept that their value has an expiry date.
“I often speak with a highly qualified woman in her early 60s who cannot find meaningful work. Employers see her age; they don’t see her resilience, her emotional intelligence, or her deep capability,” Celine said. “We are losing billions in economic value because we’ve told women that their identity should shrink after motherhood or traditional career milestones.”
The Second Half Women on FIRE podcast will feature conversations on:
• Financial autonomy: Moving from ‘financial illiteracy’ to independence.
• The reinvention myth: Why 60 is the peak of leadership, not the end of it. Challenging the ‘retirement expiry date’ and providing a blueprint for women to pivot into new jobs, board roles, entrepreneurship or mentorship.
• Legacy building: How work provides identity and connection beyond a paycheck.
Celine said:
“Work is about more than income; it’s about staying mentally engaged and connected to the community, which is exactly what we provide at JuicePlus+. When we empower the ‘Second Half Woman,’ society wins. I’m not just building a podcast, I’m building a community of women who are ready to create their most extraordinary chapter yet. I have big plans for this community.”
You can find the first season of the Second Half Women on FIRE podcast wherever you get your podcasts It will feature interviews with trailblazing women who have launched new ventures, mastered financial independence and redefined their lives in their 60s and 70s.