I contributed to an article in Platinum Magazine
Once upon a time, your golden years were fixed firmly in the cultural psyche as a life stage when, after decades of work, you could finally relax into retirement. Older, of course, but no longer having to brave the daily commute or answer to a demanding boss. Retirement was a set-in-stone rite of passage, subsidised by the state, perhaps bolstered by an occupational pension – and usually employment free. A well-deserved winding down and payback for years of toil. But the future of retirement is shaping up to look very diff erent from this idealised view of the past.
‘The traditional idea of retirement is changing as we’re living longer and healthier lives. The years from 60-75 have transformed into a new stage of life that I call the “young-old”, says Dr Denise Taylor, a retirement coach and author of Rethinking Retirement for Positive Ageing (£18.99, Routledge; denisetaylor.co.uk), and who earned her own PhD at age 64. ‘We don’t see ourselves as traditionally retired. We might want to carry on working, we might want to start something new or we might want to go on adventures. For future generations, there’s not going to be a traditional retirement. ‘I’m 66 and I think my generation will be one of the last to have the option of a traditional retirement – but I don’t want one anyway!’