The stereotypical vision of the 55+ community living out their golden years (and we use this term tongue-in-cheek) by lacing up on the tennis court every day or moving south to a sun-soaked retirement village is largely a thing of the past. As a result of steady life expectancy elongation since 1950 (with the caveat of a slight downturn during the pandemic), this generation’s retirement is much more dynamic and enriching — it’s highly personalized to each retiree’s unique interests, hobbies, goals, and passions. 

When asked “what does retirement mean to you?” participants in a survey most often cited the words “freedom,” “enjoyment,” and “stress-free” as the sentiments that best characterize retirement to them. Conducted by the nonprofit Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, the survey was targeted, in part, to baby boomers — the generation of people currently in retirement or approaching it.

Traveling more is the most common change people want to make in their post-retirement lives, with 67 percent of workers citing it as their retirement dream. For many retirees, experiencing an entirely different culture, way of life, cuisine, customs, and even learning or practicing a foreign language through immersion is the freedom they’ve been searching for. 

For others, (57 percent of workers) pursuing hobbies is their retirement dream. After years of other responsibilities, like work or raising a family, taking a front seat, retirement offers a window of time to do what one is genuinely called to every day. Whether it’s finishing that novel, learning an instrument, or taking up painting, fly-fishing, ballroom dancing, or any other fulfilling activity, the focus can now be on what brings true enjoyment in life. 

Retirement can also mean switching from full-time to part-time employment, working in a different capacity (like a high school teacher becoming a tutor), branching out into an encore career based on personal passion (not responsibility), or even starting a business. Those who can’t imagine their lives without the structure of a traditional job face potential retirement “boredom,” however, reframing one’s outlook on employment as a stress-free outlet helps ease the transition. 

Working in retirement because you want to instead of need to is a great way to form new associations to one’s relationship with work and alleviate the potential feeling of a lack of fulfillment after leaving one’s full-time job. Work can also be redefined outside of the traditional idea of paid work: One in four workers dream of devoting their retirement years to philanthropic causes they feel driven to support, according to the Transamerica Center survey.

Today, retirement is much more of a phased transition into a life well-lived rather than a “pedal to the metal” work mentality followed by a full stop. Now, more than ever, people can let up on the gas in their own ways, creating customized transitions that lead into inspiring and compelling versions of retirement. Delve into this special section filled with different stories of individuals from the 55+ community who have seized the opportunity for adventure, creative fulfillment, and exploration of their passions during retirement.