The document discusses the need for a new narrative around retirement that is more engaging and realistic. It argues that retirement is no longer about withdrawing from work, but is instead an opportunity for reinvention, pursuing passions, and spending time with loved ones. The author advocates removing the idea of a fixed retirement age deadline in order to liberate people to follow their interests and dreams throughout their lives.

1. The
New
Retirement
Story
in
Paris
(8)
By
Peter
de
Kuster
A
New
Retirement
Story.
The
Virgin
Story
on
the
Champs
Elysees
We
need
a
sexier
story
about
retirement.
It
doesn’t
fit
anymore.
Retirement
has
been
built
on
myths.
The
story
of
retirement
is
going
through
slow
but
legendary
redefinition.
For
85
percent
of
us,
it’s
no
longer
about
dropping
out
of
the
race.
It
ia
a
chance
to
refire,
relaunch,
re-­‐vive
la
vie,
anything
but
retire.
It
is
our
opportunity
to
capitalize
on
everything
we
have
learned
about
work
and
about
life.
A
failure
is
a
person
who
has
blundered
and
not
been
able
to
cash
in
on
the
experience.
We
need
to
begin
to
call
retirement
and
retirement
savings
what
they
really
are:
a
second
chance
and
emancipation
money.
Many
of
you
are
simply
looking
forward
to
launching
a
brand
new
you.
Many
of
you
want
to
try
something
out
of
the
ordinary.
Many
or
you
want
to
play
around
with
ideas
you
had
for
years.
Many
of
you
want
to
hunker
down
with
loved
ones
and
simplify
your
life
for
the
time
being.

2. The
reason
no
one
else
can
define
retirement
for
you
is
because
it
is
a
story
about
your
life
and
your
dreams.
My
goal
for
you
in
this
travel
guide
of
Paris
is
to
take
yourself
through
one
simple
mental
exercise.
Ask
yourself
this
one
question.
“What
if
there
were
no
finish
line?”
How
would
it
change
the
way
you
live
today
and
plan
for
tomorrow
if
you
stopped
running
toward
the
artificial
goal
of
retiring
at
a
pre-­‐determined
age?
Remove
this
finish
line
from
your
mind,
your
life
and
your
story,
and
it
will
liberate
all.

3. Disentangle
yourself
from
retirement
myths,
and
deal
with
life’s
realities.
Once
the
finish
line
is
removed,
we
are
left
to
ponder
our
present
realities
and
future
hopes.
We
will
stop
sacrificing
the
present
to
pursue
an
illusion
of
happiness
in
the
far
future.
We
will
begin
to
focus
on
doing
work
today
we
love
–
our
dreamjob
–
that
capitalizes
on
our
talents
and
gives
expression
to
our
passions.
We
will
begin
our
quest
to
find
work
that
feels
like
play.
A
strange
phenomenon
that
is
hard
to
explain
(I
let
Richard
Branson
do
the
explaining
here)
is
how
money
seems
to
find
its
way
to
those
who
follow
their
hearts
and
pursue
their
interests
and
passion.
Something
else
comes
your
way
when
you
follow
your
heart
–
flow
and
happiness
–
and
that’s
a
precious
Parisian
reason
d’etre
that
no
money
can
buy.