Not only are there more adults over age 40 than at any time in history; this new consumer majority is the healthiest, wealthiest and best educated. Yet the media, political and social leaders seem determined to focus on the potential problems of an aging population rather than the incredible potential with questions like, “Who will pay for health care? Will Baby Boomers bankrupt Social Security?

Perhaps the real question remains, “Is it time to retire the term ‘retirement’ and other stereotypical terms and adopt a new vocabulary?” As a concept, retirement hasn’t been around that long. It arrived with the Industrial Revolution as businesses needed a justification for pushing older people aside to make room for younger, “more productive” workers. While much of the work then was hard manual labor, age may have been a factor in productivity; however, that is hardly the case in this information age. In fact, age and wisdom are often positive “productivity indicators” in this new millennium.

In the last three decades, we have increasingly viewed the aged as a group to be catered to and cared for. We developed programs to feed, house, transport and entertain them; but few to give them meaning and significance. As the older population became more sedentary, health care costs began to rise along with demands for higher levels of government-sponsored care and support.

When a person looses significance and purpose, there is now clear evidence that the immune system erodes and self-fulfilling prophecies of aging take their toll. Retirement, therefore, is not just an outdated concept; one might argue that it is a contributing factor to the health problems that plague the world’s aging populations. As Hippocrates theorized thousands of years ago – any part of the body that is not used tends to atrophy, even the mind.

In a recent Journal Active Aging article, Dr. Roger Landry, a preventive medicine physician, stated, “… successful aging is not about being safe, preparing for death or avoiding all risk. Successful aging is about living as vital a life as possible, i.e. at the highest level of functioning." Dr. Walter Bortz of Stanford Medical School would agree.“Much of what we think about aging is not aging at all, but disuse.”

Conclusion
The 1970's launched three decades of developing products, programs and services to care for the elderly, which was somehow defined as everyone over the age of 60. Thousands of agencies, programs, services were created and funded to meet real and perceived needs. Billions of dollars later, our well meaning efforts have perhaps done as much harm as good. We have replaced purpose with pills; productive lives with early retirement packages; personal significance with shallow volunteer opportunities; and meaningful involvement with mindless activities. In fact, one might make a case, that “retirement” itself is a root cause of rising health care costs, the growing incidence of Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and depression.

Still there is hope. Organizations such as Civic Ventures in San Francisco have launched programs to involve older adults in meaningful roles. The Eden Alternative and founder Bill Thomas’ innovative Greenhouse Project is redefining long term health care through the eyes of consumers and treating the body, mind and the human spirit in the process. Dynamic, solution-oriented organizations like the International Council of Active Aging in Canada are providing an alternative to the many problem-focused membership groups that have dominated for years. But there is still much to do as ageism remains the last bastion of discrimination.

As Dr. Roger Landry eloquently put it, “Successful agers are not fatalistic about the slings and arrows of aging, but actively intervene to change the course of what was previously considered inevitable. They identify risks and work with available medical knowledge and technology to change the future.” That’s not a bad prescription for how to go about changing the way we design, develop, market and operate“retirement” communities. Let’s start by never again using “retirement” to define a dynamic community where wisdom is celebrated, members are involved in decisions that affect them and everyone is committed to making a difference.

For more information on Positive Aging services, call
520.229.3503 or e-mail ambro@positiveaging.com

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