We need a new map of life.

We've been making do with one that was fashioned for an expected longevity of threescore and 10. We shouldn't knock that legacy. At one time, that constituted progress.

But we can't stuff a 21st century life span into a life course designed for the 20th century – or stretch the old model so that it accommodates a task well beyond its intended capacity. The story starts with the numbers, but it is really about the nature of lives.

If you’re over 50, chances are that continuing to work – and being truly engaged in what you do – will boost your well-being.

Researchers at the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College found that people 50 and older are more likely than younger adults to feel more deeply engaged in paid work, volunteering and education.

By Tom Allen

Four years ago, I traded in my life for a revised version. After 30 years of practicing law and, more importantly, raising three sons, I decided it was time to do something radically different. So I moved to Rwanda, Africa.

When I am among visitors, sooner or later the question always comes up: What brought you to Rwanda? Sometimes there seems to be a tinge of unspoken suspicion: "What are you running/hiding from?" I don't get defensive, though I suppose that we are all running from or to something. The more important question is, “Do we ever succeed?”

Looking for meaningful gifts? Treat your friends and family to some interesting reading about the second half of life -- the encore stage -- and social change.

Check out these books:

After being downsized twice and unemployed for nearly a year, Robert Toller has finally found an encore career he loves: He’s helping others find their own encores.

Toller, himself, had help – Encore!Hartford.

“The Encore!Hartford program inspired me at my core,” says Toller, 53, a seasoned training executive with 20 years in the insurance industry. “The program involves all the aspects I love about meaning, heart and service, and the ability to inspire others.”

When retired ophthalmologist W. Andrew Harris wanted to use his skills to help people in developing nations, he needed a refresher on primary care. And he needed to learn how to treat people in poor, potentially dangerous regions.

Finding no sufficient options for training, he created his own: Professionals Training in Global Health, a course at Oregon Health & Science University's Global Health Center.

After a long, distinguished military career, Army Col. Paul Yingling will be eligible for attractive retirement benefits in just two years. But that’s not enough to make him stay.

He’s ready for an encore, and he’s going for it.

Retire poor? Grind away at your current job? Find part-time work that a teenager could (and probably wants to) do? Many Americans planning their next stage of life want better choices.

One such choice is an encore career, a category that recognizes that what many people want from work changes after midlife.

Intel is the first company to make Encore Fellowships – paid, part-time, yearlong assignments working at local nonprofits – available to all of its eligible pre-retiree employees nationwide.

It’s a bold move that could signal a sea change in corporate retirement benefits and bring a new wave of talent into the nonprofit sector.