The idea of taking a long, non-working break at the end of your life goes back to 1880s Germany (then Prussia). During Otto von Bismarck’s presidency, the Prussian government-funded old-age pensions for those 70 or older.
Bismarck’s proposal was quite innovative. You couldn’t end your “working life” while you were still alive before it. In other words, work was expected of you as long as you were alive.
