Retirement is Dead! Long Live Continuous Reinvention!

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, retirement is the “withdrawal from one's occupation or position, especially upon reaching a certain age.” Note that the definition uses the word “withdrawal” and not “end.” The definition of “withdrawal” uses the words “retreat” and “removal.” Again, not the word “end.” That should be instructive for us in the 21st Century.

Retirement is not an end. We do not expire. Ageism in society notwithstanding, we have choices:
· Fund retirement in our 50s to support ourselves in our 80s and 90s. Or don’t.
· Be curious and embrace lifelong learning to nourish our brains. Or don’t.
· Invest in our health so that our bodies will stand a chance of taking us the distance under our own steam. Or don’t.