Don't call them retirees. The word "senior" also is a massive turnoff to future older residents of Southwest Florida.

Baby-boomers are active, and they prefer to label retirement as a relocation or refocusing.

Southwest Florida agencies are getting ready and are shedding stodgy word usages and adjusting programs and services.

"They don't think of themselves as seniors, and they never will. They'll think they're young until the day they can't walk," said Daniel Kadlec, who co-authored "The Power Years."

Ultimately, it's the definition of the word retire that will change, he said.
The Creative Retirement Center at International College is now the Center for Lifelong Learning. Participants balked at the term "retirement" after it opened in 1996 because they didn't feel retired. They're still active, consulting or volunteering or sitting on nonprofit boards.

Senior Friends, a fitness and educational wellness program at Gulf Coast Hospital and Southwest Florida Regional Medical Center, got a new name last year. It's now H2U - Healthy, Happy You.

Of the 2,500 members - 800 of whom are active - fewer than 10 percent are baby-boomers. But more are coming, thanks to programs such as the Red Hot Mamas, an educational series for managing menopause healthily.