The Word “Retirement” Is Outdated. Let’s Revitalize It.
By Karen and Erica
Do you like the word retirement? We don’t. In fact, we suspect that absolutely no one likes words beginning with retire. The root of these words is the root of the problem. Who wants to retreat from a world inhabited by everyone else? Especially if you are healthy, sentient, and have a long runway ahead of you.
How did the whole concept of retirement begin? In the U.S, retirement was invented in the 1950’s, as a reward for a job well done, and as an enticement for older workers to make room for younger ones. Public health advances meant that people who reached retirement age could expect to live into their 70s, for the first time exceeding the Social Security retirement age of 65.
These retirees, mostly male, had weathered the Depression and at least one world war. After they stopped working, pensions and Social Security gave them plenty of disposable income. They could relax and have fun in the sun, with other retirees, for the remaining five or ten years of their lives. Indeed, the term “golden years” was coined to market the lifestyle in Sun City, Arizona, America’s first large retirement community.
And fun they did have. Movies and TV created new kinds of entertainment. Airplane travel was becoming affordable. Cars could go long distances on newly built nationwide highways. Fuel costs were low. Retirement was pretty great.
But then something happened. Imperceptibly at first, retirement became more of a stigma than a desired status. By the time we retired–the first large group of career women to stay in the work force for four decades–retirement had totally lost its lustre. To us, the 1950s vision of retirement seems more like a death sentence than a golden goal. So using the word to describe what we were going to do after our long careers came to an end was demoralizing.
What happened?
What happened is that the working world, and the people who work in it, changed dramatically.
First, the work experience of today’s retirees is very different from that of those early retirees. Technology changed jobs from mainly physical labor to laboring at a desk. The knowledge economy took hold as we moved from telex and multigraph to computers to mobile phones to personal devices. From local we went global. We had friends and colleagues all over the world with whom we were in constant communication. We saw everything through a much wider lens. We enjoyed operating in a landscape that was expansive, complex, and engaging.
Second, our runway is not five or ten years. It is closer to thirty. A person who lives past her 50s is likely to live until her 80s or 90s. She will likely remain mentally and physically fit, and technological advances–like self driving cars–will help overcome previously limiting conditions. We are no longer talking about what we are going to do for a decade or less. We are talking about what we are going to do for the next 20 or 30 years—way too long to be in retreat.
Finally, for the first time many of us are women. Women who fought for our careers, women who reshaped the workforce, and women who worked until retirement. We are at the top of our form, and we want to spend the next few decades doing interesting and purposeful things in the wider world. We also have the wherewithal–mental, physical and financial–to shape that next phase.
The word retirement, as it has come down to us, does not describe what we intend to do now that our careers are over. We mean to give the concept of post-career life a massive overhaul. Just as we tailored the working world to fit our talents and needs, so too will we refashion retirement to make it fit us. We will put forth a new image of what modern retirement can look like. When a modern women retires, her career becomes a starting point, a platform from which to jump to new accomplishments. Retirement is an opportunity to pivot, to put experience and skills to new uses, to learn new things through the lens that four decades of experience provides.
We would love to come up with a new word to go with our new image of post-career life. That has been difficult, so for now, let’s reclaim the word retirement. Make it modern, resplendent, by using it to show what post-career life can be. Bring back its lustre by using it to mark the successful conclusion of a job and the exciting launch of a new and purposeful life. Make sure people understand that retirement marks an extraordinary achievement, is a gateway to a brilliant future, and signifies a status marked by fluidity, energy, activity and engagement.
Please, join the mission.
I refer to myself as "reFired." My new chapter is all about family, fun, focused purpose, friends, and fitness.
Dear Lustre friends,
I am new to this cohort and loved this perspective.
Words matter. I declared my exit – otherwise known as retirement – a sabbatical. Admittedly and sheepishly, motivated by my vanity. “How old IS she?”, I thought people would ask if I were retiring. “Old people retire, right? I’m not old!” read my thought bubble.
So, in my ‘comms’ to colleagues and friends and clients, I labeled my untethering from full-time employment and soon to be freedom: a sabbatical from pre-dawn reveilles into long days (mine was a global role, based on the west coast, US). A lot of truth in this, BTW.
The other modicum of truth as offset to my vanity: I’d been yearning for new adventure and growth, personal learning and development, selfishly. What sabbaticals are made for, right? If not now, when? These four words have become my (adopted from a dear friend’s) mantra for life. A discussion for another time, maybe.. for now, seriously giddy about my gap year.
Regardless your truth. I’d offer an alternative to ‘retirement’ and/or ‘sabbatical’ that may resonate whatever yours. How about “Season 2”? Which follows only after character – and initial plot – development (we’ve been there done that) and promises interesting twists and turns on the journey, adventure and growth ahead.
Signing off with best wishes for your 2nd season,
L Naomi Mueller
Chief Sabbatical Officer, Season 2
We use the word ‘realignment’ in our home!
I am not so focused on what to call myself. Titles never mattered much to me. As noted in a previous article there is a lot of work to be done and the generation working and raising families are stretched pretty thin. I hope the nation will tap those of us with good health, solid skills and more time to aid in moving this country to a place where everyone is valued and respected regardless of work, religion, skin color, or sexual preference. We are a national treasure to be mined during this time of hope and transition.
Hello Lustre, I hit "retirement" out of choice, moving and marriage…and then decided I couldn’t not share my expertise and experience helping others get through all things divorce when so many others were reaching out to me for help, guidance, support etc…
I see so many women choose to let go of a career/job that no longer serves them to create a career that they crave.
Labels are never very accurate, the term retired is just one of the worst. Thanks for the "going on a career sabbatical" suggestion, I thought about that and agree it sounds more like what I hope the next year will be. (My sabbatical officially starts September 8th). Yet I do believe my work colleagues need to know what my role is — I’m not going to be a Director in corporate anymore, with all the assumptions that entails. And I didn’t leave angry — and no one threw me out. I’m just all out of juice (for now). I am so grateful for the opportunities that I’ve been given, that my Mother never had, that many women here and across the globe can’t even imagine. Maybe my new LinkedIn title will be "Gratefully pursuing a long overdue career sabbatical…. brb."
The word "retired" sort of fits how I feel about my nursing career, "tired of". I was a registered nurse for 41 years, and I’m ready to put that to bed. However, I feel REPURPOSED, which means I’m energized and free to create and work on many of the ideas I have been accumulating along the way. It feels like I’m starting out again on a career except I feel more relaxed, free and secure. Now, I have a different PURPOSE for my future and it is no less meaningful, and I am just as, if not more passionate about it. So, I think of myself as RePurposed!
…maybe "untired?"
Thanks everyone for your comments and ideas. RePurposed, ReFired, ReAligned! Love them all!
I have just discovered Lustre! I feel like someone has thrown me a floatie! I have worked as many other women have – hanging in there, winning, suffering defeats and then….more WINNING! I decided to "work" until I was 70. That’s in 2023 and I’m terrified that I’m not ready. Not ready financially or emotionally.
I’m going to read everything published as a part of Lustre. I need a Life Coach, a Mentor, a sage guide with a swinging lantern! I want this time of my life to BE the TIME OF MY LIFE!
Thanks and welcome, Debbie! We are so pleased to have you!
Love all of this…love the comments and new terms for "retirement." I’m going to steal "Second Season" as my response to my current status. So I’m having a ball in my Second Season ladies…more time to read for pleasure, find adventure in the outdoors (I water ski every morning on slalom course in Southern California), experiment with new recipes, add pages to my book, coach and mentor younger women on many subjects, focus on good-for-my-mind (and body) eating habits, lift others through my Women in Action posts, volunteer to sit on important youth centered Boards, practice mindfulness regularly, and stay passionate about my early passions—like fashion, music, poetry.
This article is awesome. What a remarkable mindset to take- one of continuation. I love it. Thank you.
I agree with the nurse’s comment below, I definitely retired from teaching! I like “work optional” right now. I’m borrowing that from the FIRE movement. I don’t like their use of retire, as most young FIREs are side hustling full time, but the idea they are retiring from the corporate world makes sense.
Having been forced into retirement by company relocating and not taking workers with them, my husband answers this question: "What do you do?" with "Anything I want!" The reaction on people’s faces is so fun.
Change your thinking to reWIREment. I put "Rewire" on my license plate. People thought I was an electrician😆, but they liked the concept once I explained it. At 75, I’m rewiring again and putting together a blog with tips for traveling in the second half of life. I am busy as can be getting it ready to launch after the first of the year.
I love this perspective on retirement. My husband and I like to say we have taken our retirement a little bit at a time over the years as we have worked in the market research field. I’ve written a book entitled, Be Brave. Lose the Beige! Finding Your Sass After Sixty-https://www.amazon.com/Be-Brave-Lose-Beige-Finding/dp/1647424682 that addresses these kind of issues. Thanks for writing
I use the term “liberation” coined by a friend when she left the days of being responsible to others, filling days with meetings and hard work. The first two years of liberation have allowed me time to volunteer, read more, go to museums, spend relaxing time with friends and exercise whenever I want!