According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2028 there will be 43 million people 55 and older in the work force — nearly one-quarter of all workers. Yet even as they age, the word retirement is becoming less and less clear. For starters, people have the potential to live well into their 70s and 80s and beyond, which often makes a plan of retiring in one’s 60s less necessary or desirable.

“Gone is the traditional vision of retiring, getting the gold watch and setting off for the golf course,” said Catherine Collinson, president of the nonprofit Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies. The trend now is toward a much more active retirement, she says, where work and time for personal pursuits or leisure are not mutually exclusive, and where the transition itself — to “retirement” — is highly personalized.

Eighty-six percent of 5,168 workers across three generations who participated in an online survey in 2018 conducted by the center had positive associations with “retirement,” citing words like “freedom,” “enjoyment” and “stress-free.” And although their retirement plans include the expected, like travel, hobbies and spending more time with friends and family, they also include working. In an interview, Ms. Collinson spoke about how the definition of retirement is changing and the trends she sees.

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