the.com/golden years

means The period of later life, typically after retirement, imagined as a time of leisure, security, and reward for decades of work.

from A 20th-century American phrase, popularized by retirement communities and insurance and financial-services marketing eager to sell the idea of later life as a shining reward rather than a decline. 'Golden' had long been used in English for anything prized or at its peak (golden age, golden anniversary), so the pairing drew on that existing glow — it wasn't a new metaphor, just a newly marketed one, built to make aging sound like a brochure.