When the social insurance for old age came into force in Switzerland in 1948, the underlying idea behind it was that getting retired meant to allow older people to be protected from the constraints of the labor market. Conversely, today, to remain active – especially by keeping a professional activ- ity – is presented as an opportunity to experience successful ageing. This article focuses on the way retired people react to this new way of looking at the links between ageing and activity. We show that they adopt the moral values of active aging, yet want to remain autonomous in the way they embody this model.

Keywords: Active aging, social policies, identity, retirement, normativity