People who have left full-time work and are heavily involved in their community and living busy lives realise that this new stage of their lives can be anything but dull.

We think that holding onto last century’s stereotypes of retirement sends all the wrong messages.

Today, many active people aren’t retiring from their jobs – they are retiring to something –  a new stage of their lives which can offer challenges and great opportunities. We are no longer “old and frail” in our 60s and shouldn’t be regarded as such. We have experienced the ups and downs of life. We have tasted victories and defeats and hopefully learned something from both. We have achieved maturity and hopefully gained some wisdom. As such, we should be described in more positive terms than “retiree”, “senior”, “oldie” or other somewhat patronising titles.

I suggest we describe ourselves as “super-adults.” We have made it into our 60s (many haven’t). We are active members of society. We have plans for what we are going to do after our career and hopefully there are many good years ahead of us. Being a “super-adult” means we have gained more in our mental development than we have lost in our physical ageing over the years and we still have a lot of living to do.

To be a “super-adult” means we are happy in our skin and are still an active member of the human race. The term suggests that mental attributes like experience, maturity and wisdom are just as important as physical aspects like good looks and strong bodies.

Clearly not everyone over 60 is going to be a “super-adult”. Like everything in life worth having, it requires some effort. A positive attitude, an interest in life and an ability to learn from experience are all necessary if one is going to achieve this desirable status.