This study shows that the French hold quite a paradoxical view of retirement. On the one hand, ‘the retirement I want’, built on high individual hopes for a new level of freedom, true personal choices, the pleasures of life. On the other, ‘the retirement I get’, determined by external constraints that limit personal development and the quality of life expected at retirement age,” summarises Yannick Carriou, managing director of Ipsos. As for ‘the retirement I want’, one of the most salient points is not to remain inactive! Retirement no longer rhymes with professional inactivity in the minds of the French: 35% can imagine themselves working during this period of their lives. Among these, only 16% would work by obligation alone, all others seeing an element of pleasure in it. An opinion largely shared by the experts in our network.