Icons Dolly Parton and Gloria Steinem never officially retired—why that's a choice for some and requirement for others

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I and many others looked forward to a luncheon with Dress for Success, a women's workforce development organization, at the end of September. Gloria Steinem was scheduled to be the keynote speaker sharing her insights on "the importance of empowering women to create meaningful change," per the invitation. Steinem died on Wednesday.
"Gloria's unwavering commitment to women's equality, opportunity, and empowerment helped shape generations of changemakers and inspired countless individuals to raise their voices, pursue their ambitions, and challenge barriers," Joanie Bily, CEO of Dress for Success Worldwide, said in a statement provided to CNBC Make It. The organization plans to pay tribute to Steinem's "life, legacy and impact" at the luncheon.
The news of Steinem's death shocked and saddened me and many around the world who have since shared tributes. A trailblazing icon of the feminist movement, Steinem will be remembered for her journalistic pursuits — co-founding Ms. Magazine and New York Magazine — along with her staunch activism pushing for women's civil and reproductive rights.
Steinem's health had declined recently, according to the Associated Press, but she hadn't publicly disclosed an illness or given other health updates that may have made her passing seem less sudden. In a similar fashion back in May, Dolly Parton revealed some health issues in a video posted to Instagram and announced she was canceling a Las Vegas residency slated for September. She said she still needed time to heal and couldn't yet perform, but assured her fans she was still working. Parton died on August 25.
Both Steinem and Parton were busy until the very end. On top of the upcoming luncheon appearance, Steinem recently finished a memoir scheduled for release on Sept. 22. Parton, "worked up until the day she died," her longtime manager, Danny Nozell, said in an Aug. 26 press release. She was involved in numerous projects before her death including a biopic and musical documentary, he said. She also made sure those projects would be left in trusted hands.
The women, well past traditional retirement ages — Parton at 80 and Steinem at 92 — were among millions of Americans who, for various reasons, continue working after they've technically retired or can start claiming their full Social Security retirement benefits. That's between ages 66 and 67, depending on when you were born, and increases for every year you delay claiming until age 70.
Why people who can retire sometimes don't
For some Americans, working in retirement or even up to their death, isn't a choice. Around 41% of working retirees who gave a reason say they need the money to make ends meet, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute's 2026 Retirement Confidence survey. The survey polled 1,045 retirees in January with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
We don't know the details of their personal financial situations, but Parton and Steinem likely could have stopped working and, given their storied careers, were probably not doing it for whatever paychecks they may have earned from their late-in-life endeavors. Both certainly worked less in their final years than during the peaks of their careers, but continued giving interviews, making appearances and pursuing their creative passions.
"With people like Gloria and Dolly, I'm not sure 'work' captures the whole story," says Danielle Robay, host of the "Question Everything" and "Bookmarked" podcasts, and a Gloria Steinem Foundation fellow. "When your work is so closely connected to your purpose, creativity, relationships, and way of understanding the world, continuing may not feel like an obligation. It may feel like being fully alive."
That aligns with millions of working retirees who stay in the workforce for non-monetary reasons. Some 91% of working retirees report holding jobs to stay active and involved and 85% say they work because they enjoy it, per the EBRI survey.
Kelly Klingaman, an Austin, Texas-based certified financial planner, says her clients — who are primarily millennial women — feel similarly and "don't want to fully remove themselves from work." She suspects that's more of an ambition-driven mindset.
"There aren't a ton of women who have done what they've done before them, and it's tough for them to imagine backing out completely when they've got a chance to inspire other women to pursue a similar path in their industry," she says.
Regardless of their reasons for wanting to stay in the workforce, many Americans would prefer to treat late in life work as a choice rather than a necessity, says Scott Boyles, a CFP also based in Austin. "Getting to the point where 'working is optional' is the idea of retirement," he says.
"If you enjoy what you do, want to start another career, volunteer, consult, or maybe even open a business well into your 70s, that's great. The financial plan should give you the freedom to make that decision," he says.
'Financial independence is the finish line'
The key to affording that freedom, Boyles says, is focusing less on a goal retirement age, and more on figuring out what it actually costs to fund your life.
That means estimating your expenses — including living costs, remaining debt payments and future medical bills — and weighing those against how much you'll be able to bring in from Social Security, retirement account withdrawals or other income sources, he says.
"Once you know that number, you can start building toward financial independence rather than an arbitrary birthday."
In this case, financial independence means having enough savings, investments, and non-work income to cover your expenses without a regular paycheck.
The amount of money you need to reach that goal varies widely based on where you live, when you want to retire and how you want to live out those years. Retiring in Hawaii at age 65 may take around $2.2 million in savings, for example, according to a GoBankingRates estimate from January. The estimate accounts for expected Social Security income and essential spending.
Once you have an idea of how much you'll need to fund the retirement you want, you can start setting some goals for your retirement account contributions. Depending on your number, it may be difficult to hit your savings goal solely through a 401(k) or individual retirement account due to annual contribution limits set by the Internal Revenue Service. Using other vehicles like a taxable brokerage or health savings account can give you more savings options and provide flexibility in retirement, Boyles says.
The ability to stop working completely or to afford a relatively expensive lifestyle may take some sacrifices while you're younger. Starting to invest early can make a big difference due to compounding, he adds, but you still may have to make some trade-offs.
"Spending an extra $10,000 today isn't just $10,000," he says. "Think about what that $10,000 could become if invested for 20 or 30 years." Additionally, you may not be able to work for as long as you plan if you encounter health problems down the road.
That doesn't mean you can't enjoy your life while you're young. It's just good to understand how your decisions today could impact your future, he says.
"I think we sometimes treat retirement as a finish line," Boyles says. "I think financial independence is the finish line. Once you reach it, you get to decide what comes next."

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