When someone says they’re retiring, that usually means they’re no longer going to be working --- but in this day and age, maybe not.  As people live longer, healthier lives, the concept of retirement is changing --- some people today are busier in retirement than they ever were working. The difference is they do what they want to do, when they want to do it. So in this sense, “work” doesn’t really feel like work when you’re doing something you enjoy, on your own time frame and terms.

Tina Turner is a living example of this new retirement, and is part of a new trend that appears to be here to stay. But to say this is what she had planned, is not exactly the way the story goes, it just happens to be the way it turned out.

When Tina performed her “Twenty Four Seven” farewell tour in 2000, she was sixty years young and had spent forty years rocking the world and strutting her stuff. It certainly seemed like an appropriate time to hang up her trademark four-inch heels.

Yet while Tina was very much looking forward to not having a calendar of dates and responsibilities to adhere to, she still planned to record and make occasional live appearances. The difference in this new life phase however, was it would be at her own pace -- still doing what she loved to do, just in a different way.

For eight years, everything was going along as planned. Tina thoroughly enjoyed being out of the spotlight at her home in Zurich, getting up at no specific time, being with friends and family, and not having two days exactly the same. Her love of music and performing was still part of this; it was just now more about private shows instead of big, public events and traveling.

But isn’t it always the way the story goes -- just when you’re feeling real comfortable with the way life is going, a change comes along when you least expect it and “poof” you’re off in a new direction.

For Tina, the first sign occurred during a visit with her long-time friend, Sophia Loren (73 at the time) who told Tina her “rest” was over and it was time to get back to work! Imagine that, Sophia, in traditional retirement stage herself, still working, doing what she loved to do, and recommending Tina consider it, too!

While Sophia planted the seed, it was Beyonce who provided the water for the idea to grow when she invited Tina to join her onstage at the 2007 Grammys to perform Proud Mary. But it was Tina’s long-standing trait of never giving anything but her best, that really germinated this idea into something truly special, and completely unexpected.

“I was surprised by the reaction because, to be honest, I wasn’t quite ready,” Tina told USA Today, reminiscing about that Proud Mary moment and what happened next. While Beyonce and Tina’s duet was one of the highlights of the Grammys, this one-shot celebration was never expected to be the catalyst for another world tour. But after an eight-year absence, Tina’s fans wanted more, and as always, Tina Turner never disappoints.

So she strapped the stilettos back on and started rehearsing, dancing ten hours a day at the age of 68, preparing for the opportunity she believed was simply meant to be.

And for those of us that got to experience it … it was simply the best! Having seen Tina during both her farewell tour and this recent retirement rendezvous, the fact that it’s eight years later and she’s eight years older, proves to me that age is definitely just a number because she still rocked that stage like no time had passed. And even though she took an intermission (which she’d never done in previous tours), it’s not like she’s up on stage just sitting on a bar stool strumming a guitar. She and her dancers were shimmying all over that stage in skirts that were as short as the heels were high, and never once missing a beat!

In fact, do I dare say she may actually have been better in her retired premiere than she was in her farewell finale tour? Possibly. And if so, it’s likely due to the benefit she experienced by taking a break, and returning with a renewed sense of spirit.

This is the redefining of retirement that’s taking place in our culture. It’s about renewment -- taking the time to step back, regroup, refocus and then go forward with a new perspective and outlook. Retirement is not about dis-engaging, it should be about re-engaging. So by shifting our thinking about retirement as the end-all to a time of renewment and growth, perhaps we will finally be able to detach the negative connotation so often associated with it, to one of what it really is today … and what it will likely be tomorrow, too.

Whatever it is, it’s certainly working for Tina … and many others, too. It’s definitely a trend we’re seeing more and more, and just like Tina, it appears to be here to stay.

Special Note: This concludes the Summer Celebrity Series.

Kelly Ferrin, gerontologist and author of “What’s Age Got To Do With It? Secrets to Aging in Extraordinary Ways” has been studying aging and retirement issues for over 25 years. She was one of the first to ever receive a degree in this field from the prestigious Andrus School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California, the top school in the nation for age-related studies.

website: kellyferrin.com ••• email: ageangel@earthlink.net