I actually think the word "retired" is of little utility and not really worth all that much in a world where people regularly change jobs and careers and where part time work well into senior years is commonplace. Outside of the FI community, no one really cares how anyone defines retirement.
Also, this whole fixation on career and meaning just smacks of serious ageism. Nobody flinches at someone in their late 50s or early 60s retiring. A lot of people at that age are in their prime of life AND in their prime earning years, and yet we don't see condescending bullshit telling them not to retire.
So what if someone retires in their 30s, that's only 20 years difference. The range of age that people live to is much broader than that, so when someone dies will have far more impact on how many years they spend retired than how early they retire. When you think of it that way, all of this fuss seems pretty silly...unless people are just discounting the value of years of life as a senior...which they do, all the time.
This whole fixation on not retiring early somehow puts this unfair premium on those mid-life decades, as if they're somehow what defines someone's life, purpose, and societal value.
After that age?
Oh fuck off, no one cares what you do, just try not to drive too slow you old fucks.
It's all just so absurd.