Reba McEntire Teases Retirement ‘Could be in 20 Years’

Reba McEntire celebrated her 70th birthday back in March, an age when many people may be thinking about retiring, but the country music and TV great still thinks she’s got another couple of decades left before retirement. 

When asked when she might retire in a new interview with People, McEntire replied frankly, “I don’t know when. It could be in 20 years.” (That would put McEntire at the ripe age of 90.) She added: “I think I’ll know when it’s time.”

McEntire went on to recall how she and Dolly Parton talked “an awful lot” about retirement way back in the early 2000s, when Parton was a guest star on McEntire’s hit sitcom, Reba. “I said, ‘Are you going to retire?,’” McEntire remembered. “[Parton] said, ‘Why would I? What in the world could I do and have as much fun as what I’m doing in this job right now?’ I agree with her a hundred percent. Slow down, maybe, but no plans of retiring.”

McEntire is, of course, as busy as ever. She’s currently doing her fourth stint as a coach on The Voice, which is in the middle of its 28th season. And the second season of her new sitcom, Happy’s Place, is about to launch its second season Nov. 7 on NBC. 

“I love this chapter in my life. I’m very grateful,” McEntire told People.

Back in May, McEntire was also enlisted to host the 60th Academy of Country Music Awards, marking her 18th time at the helm of the awards show institution. To open the big anniversary show, McEntire performed a decade-spanning medley, saluting one Song of the Year winner from each of the last six decades.