golden years

Noun

golden years pl (plural only)

1. (euphemistic, idiomatic, plural, plural-only) Old age; especially, the leisure years in later life after one has retired from employment.
   • To make the most of your golden years, study the points enumerated above and then resolve to do just the opposite.1958 October 16, Robert Peterson, “Growing Old Disgracefully”, in St. Petersburg Independent, US, page 9
   • If, by the time you are 50, you haven't started planning for retirement, the golden years won't be golden.1986 December 18, “Planning key to financially secure retirement”, in Edmonton Journal, Canada, page C1

   Synonyms:

   twilight years, sunset years, age, chair days, codgerhood, eld, elderliness, fogeydom, geezerdom, old age

2. (idiomatic, plural, plural-only) The period during which someone or something flourishes.
   • The later time of life, when white hairs show that reflection must take the place of action, may well be called golden years.1903 September 26, The Rural New Yorker, volume LXII, number 2800
   • Almost before Carlyle realized his good fortune he was on Broadway, with offers of engagements on all sides, and more money than he had ever dreamed of. It was when he realized that he was spending the golden years of his life gibbering round a stage with a lot of black men.1920 May 27, F[rancis] Scott Fitzgerald, “The Offshore Pirate”, in Flappers and Philosophers, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, published September 1920, →OCLC, part III, page 19

   Synonyms:

   prime, golden age, golden era, golden time, heyday