Half Dead at 77.3 Years of Age

My over all target for full retirement has been May 2007. By then I would have all of my different retirement incomes operating and sending me money. By May 2008 my wife would join the retirement hordes and off we would go and boogie.

Well a few days ago I attended a funeral of a close colleague of mine. He was 64 years old and was planning to retire in September of this year. Last year I attended the funeral of my former boss who had been retired a full 18 months before he passed away. Six months before that, another co-worker died after only two years of retirement. Last summer a long time friend died at 48. My best friend had died at 54.

These events get a guy to start thinking about longevity. My 8th grade class in a small school in Southwest Oklahoma had nine people in it. Of the nine only me and Judy M. are still alive. We can have a class reunion in a phone booth.

So I'm applying for Social Security in February and looking at the benefit system. Do I apply at 62, 66, or 70? You get the highest pay out if you wait till you are 70. Less at 66 and more less at 62. So then I find out that no mater which age you take your SS money at you get the same total amount from when you start till the average age of death at 77.3 years. So waiting till 70 to take benefits only really benefits you if you live PAST 77.3 years of age.

So when would you rather have the money? When you are 62 years old and out doing things or at 78 when you have slowed down and aren't doing so much?
First all, it ain't all that much money anyhow. I mean it isn't anything to sneeze at but at about $1100 per month for most workers it isn't much of a living by itself.

Now I know if you are 30 and reading this, you have already stopped and gone on to other things. If you are 50, you may be still reading. For you guys the data will change. But for us over 60 it becomes more interesting.

The tendency to take what you can as soon as you can is directly related to the number of dead friends and co-workers that you have experienced. Not to mention that my knees don't work so well. My back betrays me on a quarterly basis. There are things that leak. Also, even with my senior citizen discounts, the price of everything is going up.

OK, I have had to cancel my planned hikes though the Andes. The cave exploring in New Mexico is a bit beyond my flexibility at this point. I'm a bit too heavy (by almost 2X) to ride those mules down into the bottom of the Grand Canyon. If I want to fly anywhere, the only seats I even begin to fit in are in the unaffordable first class.
Can I expect that it will be better by the time I am 66 or 70? I don't much think so.

So I took my reduced Social Security. Now all I got to do is live long enough for my wife to retire next year from teaching 4th grade and off we can go. Well, not too far off. I'm beginning to look at the concept of seeing the world while sitting down.
Binoculars and telephoto lens are now requirements if I have to see and photograph anything.

Retirement?
I can not tell you how much I truly enjoy not having a rat in the race, a dog in the hunt, or giving a damn about anything I used to have to worry about. I highly recommend doing it as soon as you can.

Now if you do live past the average 77.3 years, keep this in mind:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqfFrCUrEbY