For the better part of the past century, American society, with government and employer support, has been organized to “take care” of its vulnerable citizens — the very young and the elderly, who cannot care for themselves. From the time of the Puritans all the way through the industrial revolution, people worked until they were no longer able. Since family units comprised succeeding generations — babies, parents, grandparents, maybe even great-grandparents — the oldest were cared for by the younger, more able family members. That would hardly be considered the same retirement that we know today.

For quite some time the most common age to stop work voluntarily has been sixty-five, with some hoping to push that up another five or ten years. Minus a tragic illness or major disability, ending work doesn't necessarily mean you couldn't work. When you look around at people you know who are sixty-five, do you see withered-up, apathetic, no-more-juice individuals? Or do you see images that match those in the financial services ads portraying adults who have a lot of energy and remaining zest for life? Somehow the notion of rocking away the years of retirement no longer jibes with how people see themselves.

There is a growing trend toward redefining the stage of adulthood between middle age and really old age. As a culture, no single term has caught the public imagination in the way that the terms “baby boomer” or “yuppie” convey a commonly understood subgroup of the population. Some of the commonly used terms to define this period of life that no longer seem to fit well are:

• golden years

• mature

• old age

• aged

• the elderly

• life of leisure

• retirement

Evolving terms associated with retirement years include:

• third-agers

• my time

• social entrepreneurship

• second adolescence

Nancy Schlossberg calls this period “my time” because it follows the conclusion of major earlier adult responsibilities, such as raising children or holding down a job for thirty years or more. Finally personal interests and goals can be pursued unimpeded. Abigail Trafford has a book entitled My Time as a discussion of the upheaval and excitement of this time of life.

Marc Freedman, head of Civic Ventures based in San Francisco and author ofPrime Time , offers a fresh view of what it means to be an older adult in America. He suggests that when you are living in the third age, the things that will be most important to you will be:

• Lifelong learning

• Finding new ways to contribute to society

• Continued physical and spiritual well-being

• Being in a community of people who share the same goals

• Finding places to get resources for figuring out this stage of life

The senior centers that are organized to fill the hours of the bored and lonely with bingo games and shuffleboard will no longer fill the bill. Whole new entities will be imagined and created to reflect the dynamic way you will continue to live. Don't think you will be sitting on the sidelines while this new social dynamic unfolds. You are going to be front and center. Your body will be stronger at sixty than your father's was at sixty. Your mind will be sharper at eighty than your mother's was at eighty.

You are not going to sit by and just growl at what does not please you as you move away from the full-time paid work force. You will need more and demand more, and you will have a role shaping the new institutions that will answer your requirements. Some terrific work has already begun, but it will be up to you and your peers to take it to the next level. This will be discussed further in Chapter 12. Meanwhile, new terminology will continue to pop up in the culture trying to capture what the new retirement means.