In her class “Introduction to Gerontology,” USC

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Professor Caroline Cicero shows her students a CNN profile of Senator Dianne Feinstein that first aired in 2017.

That’s what I set out to do, Feinstein said of her many years in public service, including stints as a supervisor and mayor of San Francisco.

Feinstein then pointed to her head and completed the thought:

As long as the old bean holds out, she

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.

said.

I admired her determination. But Feinstein, who died last week at the age of 90, was still at work despite concerns among many that the old bean had not quit.

Cicero uses that video detailing the 1978 murders of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, and the role the tragedy played in Feinstein’s rise to power and her embrace of gun control legislation, to spark conversations about longevity to bring.

In the case of Senator Feinstein and so many, Cicero said, their identity is wrapped up in the work they do, and yes, I believe many people don’t retire because they don’t know what else they would do.

Cicero repeated a comment she first made to me a few months ago, when I wrote that it was time for Feinstein, whose physical and cognitive state had clearly faded, to let go.

I think we should give people the opportunity to retire, Cicero said, adding as people get closer

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at the end of their careers they have to think about who they will be after retirement.

I struggled with these considerations a few years ago while researching my book Independence Day: What I Learned About Retirement, From Some Who Have Done It and Some Who Never Will. The research was part of my own process of deciding if I was ready to retire, and ultimately I did wanted to continue.

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As the world’s population of older adults grows in what some have called the silver tsunami, in reality millions of people do not have the luxury of such a choice. They work because they can’t afford it. But others continue to work because they don’t know what else to do with their time, or simply because they love what they do.

Father Gregory Boyle, who helps young men and women turn their lives around after gangs and prison, impressed me when I asked if he would ever retire.

You want to stay anchored in loving and connected to a supportive God and aware of the goodness in people. For me, that’s eternal replenishment, and you have to do what replenishes you, Boyle told me, adding one final thought:

Jesuits retreat to the cemetery.

Boyle and I are about the same age (I’m almost 70), as is California winemaker Randall Grahm, who is also known as the Rhone Ranger. When I met Grahm on his land in San Juan Bautista, where he is trying to develop a climate-resilient grape, he had the same vision as Boyle and wondered why I would quit a job I was paid for. drink wine with him in the middle of a beautiful day.

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I’m going to die in the vineyard, Grahm said.

Because of the book and my Golden State column, I often hear from people who are in the middle of big decisions about when and how to create a second chapter for themselves. Paul Silverman, a urologist from Ventura County, emailed me and we talked on the phone about his struggles in weighing the benefits of work against the benefits and uncertainties of retirement.

Silverman, 68, has finally made his decision.

I’ve had a great career, but I’ve come to grips with the changing times in medicine, my health, my limitations and a classic “burnout” you’ve probably heard of, Silverman said. I still work part-time and plan to quit completely by the end of the year, now that I know my patients will be in better hands than mine.

Feinstein had said the current term would be her last. But you have to wonder if her health is deteriorating

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she was able to think clearly about such considerations before and during her last term. Or that loved ones, friends and staffers could help her cope with these problems.

Even if you are of sound mind, it can be difficult to know when to let go. For my book, I profiled an Orange County paralegal named Jane who, at age 66, believed it was time to end her career. Her colleagues threw her a farewell party on Friday. The next Monday I realized it was eight in the morning and I was all dressed up and had no place to go,” Jane said.

By the end of the week, Jane asked if she could get her job back, and she worked for another three years before hanging it up for good.

When work and identity are one and the same, it can be difficult to walk away. As a kid in the Bay Area, I was a big fan of San Francisco Giants Hall of Famer Willie Mays. But he’s a classic example of someone who stayed in his job long after his skills had diminished, and it was sad to see.

Same with Feinstein.

I have to say it broke my heart because I saw her getting smaller in the eyes of the public and that would be their last memory of her, said Helen Dennis, a Los Angeles-based public speaker, columnist and advocate for aging well at work. and further.

Dennis is co-founder of Project Renewment, which brings professional women together to talk about work and what comes next, and she is co-author of Project Renewment: The First Retirement Model for Career Women. I asked her what advice she would have given Feinstein before her declining health got in the way of her work.

“I think I asked her what she thought the risks, the gains and the losses would be if she continued in her role,” Dennis said. What would she sacrifice if she left, and what would she gain if she stayed?

That’s good advice for all of us, including Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and President Biden. It’s not a matter of age, for them or for anyone else; it’s about health and skills.

And it is worth remembering that no matter how difficult it may be for some people to cut the cord, rich experiences await many who make more time for family and friends, find purpose and fulfillment in volunteer, take on new adventures or even start a second career, or just take some time to relax and reflect.

Work is not life, said Cicero, and life is not work.

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