OT: Retiring early

[miketd1]

I don’t think so. If my siblings and I live to a decent age 80-85, the kids will get the inheritance around 50-60 years old and pretty much lived their own lives hopefully successfully. They don’t know the exact amounts and we don't know the exact amount, some $3-6 million at late 60’s could end up $9-40 million depending on long we live. The kids, now around 40’s, are more successful than their parent, like numbers or TK2, and will save more. Giving the money to them in their 20’s might spoil them, my brother kids did get credit cards in HS. The grandkids are spoiled.

This is what I meant. I would wait until my kids are more established in their careers before telling them they could be in line for a significant windfall.

The last thing I want is for one of them to turn around and tell me they are quitting school to become a youtuber, soccer player, (fill in the blank).

 

[tom1944]

My parents are 90 and 91 any inheritance will have no impact on any of their 5 kids drive

 

[LeapinLou]

IMO, if your kids believe they are in line for a large inheritance, it'll have a negative effect on their drive and desire for personal success.

Every situation is different. I've seen numerous examples that back up this theory and others that refute it.

 

[JayDogSmooth]

Every situation is different. I've seen numerous examples that back up this theory and others that refute it.

We plan on keeping everything pretty hush-hush as I don’t believe there’s any need for our daughter to know that she will be in line for a decent chunk of money once we are not around, but at the same time, we would like her to know that everything is OK and not have Concerns about her monetary situation moving forward

 

[Unionst]

We plan on keeping everything pretty hush-hush as I don’t believe there’s any need for our daughter to know that she will be in line for a decent chunk of money once we are not around, but at the same time, we would like her to know that everything is OK and not have Concerns about her monetary situation moving forward

I had exactly that conversation with my daughter as she worried about the cost of raising kids.

 

[tom1944]

We plan on keeping everything pretty hush-hush as I don’t believe there’s any need for our daughter to know that she will be in line for a decent chunk of money once we are not around, but at the same time, we would like her to know that everything is OK and not have Concerns about her monetary situation moving forward

Just teach her not to combine inherited funds with her significant other’s accounts

 

[Ridge 22]

This is a super interesting thread and very on topic to my current thought process. I will be 55 at the end of this year. At 55, I qualify for early retirement with my company, which comes with enhanced benefits to my pension payout (defined benefit). At that point in time, I will have the option to early retire and take a package (1 year salary), or keep going in my current role (and pass up the package). My job is high stress and I feel burned out. I long for the day I can retire and have for the past several years. The only thing keeping me going is finances and do we have enough to retire. I will have zero issues filling my time; that is a non-factor for me. I also have 2 kids in high school I still need to pay college for.

From an asset standpoint, my house is paid off and worth ~$1.3M+. I have approximately $500k set aside ($250k per kid) for college. Goal is to get them through 4 years, and if they go beyond that, they will need to handle that themselves. Excluding all of that, I am targeting ~$2.0M in net investable assets as a minimum. In addition, I will have a pension payout of roughly $60k a year beginning end of this year if I were to exercise it. If I keep working and delay taking it, it would grow about $5k a year. Not really factoring in SS right now, as it is far away, but I should be at the max. Health care is my main concern. We need good healthcare and I don’t want to be paying $35k a year until medicare kicks in.

All of that feels sort of sufficient, but just barely. I really don’t want to worry about money in retirement. Likely need/want around $150k a year in income to live going forward. I am ok drawing down on my funds a little, but largely would like to live on the pension and asset earnings (and eventually SS). Ideally I would like to try and keep at it with work for another 2-3 years to continue to build the nest egg, but I just don’t know if that is possible or not. If I ever worked again, it would be something completely different and low key (think some easy job at my town that had benefits or something like that). Curious what peoples thoughts are on my situation.

 

[JayDogSmooth]

Just teach her not to combine inherited funds with her significant other’s accounts

Great point!

 

[JayDogSmooth]

This is a super interesting thread and very on topic to my current thought process. I will be 55 at the end of this year. At 55, I qualify for early retirement with my company, which comes with enhanced benefits to my pension payout (defined benefit). At that point in time, I will have the option to early retire and take a package (1 year salary), or keep going in my current role (and pass up the package). My job is high stress and I feel burned out. I long for the day I can retire and have for the past several years. The only thing keeping me going is finances and do we have enough to retire. I will have zero issues filling my time; that is a non-factor for me. I also have 2 kids in high school I still need to pay college for.

From an asset standpoint, my house is paid off and worth ~$1.3M+. I have approximately $500k set aside ($250k per kid) for college. Goal is to get them through 4 years, and if they go beyond that, they will need to handle that themselves. Excluding all of that, I am targeting ~$2.0M in net investable assets as a minimum. In addition, I will have a pension payout of roughly $60k a year beginning end of this year if I were to exercise it. If I keep working and delay taking it, it would grow about $5k a year. Not really factoring in SS right now, as it is far away, but I should be at the max. Health care is my main concern. We need good healthcare and I don’t want to be paying $35k a year until medicare kicks in.

All of that feels sort of sufficient, but just barely. I really don’t want to worry about money in retirement. Likely need/want around $150k a year in income to live going forward. I am ok drawing down on my funds a little, but largely would like to live on the pension and asset earnings (and eventually SS). Ideally I would like to try and keep at it with work for another 2-3 years to continue to build the nest egg, but I just don’t know if that is possible or not. If I ever worked again, it would be something completely different and low key (think some easy job at my town that had benefits or something like that). Curious what peoples thoughts are on my situation.

Any thought of moving or downsizing your home?

Move into a comparable area or possibly somewhere out of state once the kids graduate high school, and have another half million in the bank.

 

[Ridge 22]

Any thought of moving or downsizing your home?

Move into a comparable area or possibly somewhere out of state once the kids graduate high school, and have another half million in the bank.

Yeah, definitely a thought. Although not sure how far out of the area we can realistically go, as my wife needs access to NYC for medical care. Most likely if we downsized, it would be to buy a small condo in this area and something else elsewhere. But that doesnt really come with any real savings. Where my kids eventually settle is a factor as well, but that is still 5+ years away minimum.

 

[phs73rc77gsm83]

Just teach her not to combine inherited funds with her significant other’s accounts

Just to extend this concept, if there are significant non-inherited funds prior to marriage, it could well make sense not to commingle pre-marriage funds with post-marriage funds. That’s not to say the one (or both) with relatively significant pre-marriage assets can’t use some funds for a down payment etc.; but rather, I wouldn’t automatically commingle all funds into a joint account.

 

[yesrutgers01]

Just teach her not to combine inherited funds with her significant other’s accounts

We were talking to our accountant and lawyer about setting up a trust that all inherited funds would go to and have that trust pay directly to our children. Lots of language around it but will be all about our son's, their kids and not so much their wives.

 

[T2Kplus20]

This is a super interesting thread and very on topic to my current thought process. I will be 55 at the end of this year. At 55, I qualify for early retirement with my company, which comes with enhanced benefits to my pension payout (defined benefit). At that point in time, I will have the option to early retire and take a package (1 year salary), or keep going in my current role (and pass up the package). My job is high stress and I feel burned out. I long for the day I can retire and have for the past several years. The only thing keeping me going is finances and do we have enough to retire. I will have zero issues filling my time; that is a non-factor for me. I also have 2 kids in high school I still need to pay college for.

From an asset standpoint, my house is paid off and worth ~$1.3M+. I have approximately $500k set aside ($250k per kid) for college. Goal is to get them through 4 years, and if they go beyond that, they will need to handle that themselves. Excluding all of that, I am targeting ~$2.0M in net investable assets as a minimum. In addition, I will have a pension payout of roughly $60k a year beginning end of this year if I were to exercise it. If I keep working and delay taking it, it would grow about $5k a year. Not really factoring in SS right now, as it is far away, but I should be at the max. Health care is my main concern. We need good healthcare and I don’t want to be paying $35k a year until medicare kicks in.

All of that feels sort of sufficient, but just barely. I really don’t want to worry about money in retirement. Likely need/want around $150k a year in income to live going forward. I am ok drawing down on my funds a little, but largely would like to live on the pension and asset earnings (and eventually SS). Ideally I would like to try and keep at it with work for another 2-3 years to continue to build the nest egg, but I just don’t know if that is possible or not. If I ever worked again, it would be something completely different and low key (think some easy job at my town that had benefits or something like that). Curious what peoples thoughts are on my situation.

Very interesting, reminds me of my dad's situation. He become eligible for an early retirement at 58 (chemical industry). He did the math and figured out that the enhanced package was worth 3 years of normal compensation. That's a lot to give up. He took the package and of course a few months later he started working as a consultant for the company and did so for another 4 years. LOL!

Reading your story, that's my first question. Can you retire from this company, get the enhanced pension and 1-year salary and then do some consulting (part-time)? You seem to be on track for a good retirement, but you never know about college bills and you seem to want additional income to cover health care costs until 65.

 

[tom1944]

The younger you retire the more years you have consider inflation.

My dad retired at 61 and is now 91. A great pension 30 years ago is not the same.

He was lucky that his company provided 1 COLA about 10 years after he retired.

The other issue is health care. My mom and dad went on Medicare at 65 but their employer health care served as the secondary insurance. At the age of 90 the company got rid of employer coverage and gave retirees a check to go buy their own policy. The amount of the check will not rise near as much as the health coverage cost rose and at 90 my parents are not really equipped to interpret what policy is best for them.

 

[Ridge 22]

Very interesting, reminds me of my dad's situation. He become eligible for an early retirement at 58 (chemical industry). He did the math and figured out that the enhanced package was worth 3 years of normal compensation. That's a lot to give up. He took the package and of course a few months later he started working as a consultant for the company and did so for another 4 years. LOL!

Reading your story, that's my first question. Can you retire from this company, get the enhanced pension and 1-year salary and then do some consulting (part-time)? You seem to be on track for a good retirement, but you never know about college bills and you seem to want additional income to cover health care costs until 65.

I just need to hit age 55 (along with 10 years of service, which I have) to qualify for the enhanced pension. The 1 year payout is a separate thing, as my role changed recently. I have until the end of this year to either accept it and leave the company, or keep going in my current role and forego it (but keep earning money, getting benefits, accruing further pension credits, etc). If i am walking away from a years salary, I would probably need to commit to another 2-3 years of working for it to make sense. I could do consulting I guess, but when I am done here, a big part of me just wants to be done period. Work is really a grind for me right now. Also with consulting, no benefits, so it may make more sense to get a very low key (and low pay job) that is easy and local and pays benefits.

 

[Ridge 22]

The younger you retire the more years you have consider inflation.

My dad retired at 61 and is now 91. A great pension 30 years ago is not the same.

He was lucky that his company provided 1 COLA about 10 years after he retired.

The other issue is health care. My mom and dad went on Medicare at 65 but their employer health care served as the secondary insurance. At the age of 90 the company got rid of employer coverage and gave retirees a check to go buy their own policy. The amount of the check will not rise near as much as the health coverage cost rose and at 90 my parents are not really equipped to interpret what policy is best for them.

Very good points on inflation and what these $'s might really look like years from now

 

[T2Kplus20]

Also with consulting, no benefits, so it may make more sense to get a very low key (and low pay job) that is easy and local and pays benefits.

That's another great option and something many people are doing now. Sounds like you are mentally ready to retire from your current job. Taking the money and moving on with life may be the right decision.

 

[mikebal9]

On the other hand, my father died broke, and didn't have life insurance. Not only did we get nothing, I was left with a funeral bill (my deadbeat siblings didn't chip in a dime.) My mom has just enough (I believe 10k) in life insurance to pay for the funeral.
I hope to leave my boys something small.

 

[75liteweight]

Something else to consider, enjoying the time off when you can. I retired two years ago at age 65. Cost of health insurance was big decider. Waited until eligible for Medicare. Not long after let wife retire at 63 1/2 and paid Cobra for two years until she was 65 and eligible. Glad I went when I did. Had lot to keep me busy and two great years of taking it easy and doing what I wanted when I wanted. Hiking, fishing, hunting, golf, working on my model trains and lawn work when I wanted. Then out of blue medical problems reared up. From time spent in woods over the years I contracted Lymes disease and didn't know it. In Nov caught up to me and within 36 hours went from spending the day mowing, weed wacking and fishing, to wobbly legs that night, to not being able to stand on my own. Basically lost all nerve function from belly button down. Four months later still in a wheelchair slowly learning to use a walker without help. And nerves are painfully coming back so have hope.
But not really about me, I'm just saying you have no clue what might happen down the road and my feeling is if you have the ability to retire and enjoy life now go for it.

 

[Ridge 22]

Something else to consider, enjoying the time off when you can. I retired two years ago at age 65. Cost of health insurance was big decider. Waited until eligible for Medicare. Not long after let wife retire at 63 1/2 and paid Cobra for two years until she was 65 and eligible. Glad I went when I did. Had lot to keep me busy and two great years of taking it easy and doing what I wanted when I wanted. Hiking, fishing, hunting, golf, working on my model trains and lawn work when I wanted. Then out of blue medical problems reared up. From time spent in woods over the years I contracted Lymes disease and didn't know it. In Nov caught up to me and within 36 hours went from spending the day mowing, weed wacking and fishing, to wobbly legs that night, to not being able to stand on my own. Basically lost all nerve function from belly button down. Four months later still in a wheelchair slowly learning to use a walker without help. And nerves are painfully coming back so have hope.
But not really about me, I'm just saying you have no clue what might happen down the road and my feeling is if you have the ability to retire and enjoy life now go for it.

Ughh. So sorry to hear that. Keep getting better. Definitely pulling for you.

 

[Scarlet1984]

Something else to consider, enjoying the time off when you can. I retired two years ago at age 65. Cost of health insurance was big decider. Waited until eligible for Medicare. Not long after let wife retire at 63 1/2 and paid Cobra for two years until she was 65 and eligible. Glad I went when I did. Had lot to keep me busy and two great years of taking it easy and doing what I wanted when I wanted. Hiking, fishing, hunting, golf, working on my model trains and lawn work when I wanted. Then out of blue medical problems reared up. From time spent in woods over the years I contracted Lymes disease and didn't know it. In Nov caught up to me and within 36 hours went from spending the day mowing, weed wacking and fishing, to wobbly legs that night, to not being able to stand on my own. Basically lost all nerve function from belly button down. Four months later still in a wheelchair slowly learning to use a walker without help. And nerves are painfully coming back so have hope.
But not really about me, I'm just saying you have no clue what might happen down the road and my feeling is if you have the ability to retire and enjoy life now go for it.

Sorry to hear that. Sounds like you are fighting the good fight!

And thanks for the reminder that we have to balance planning for the future with enjoying the present.

Hang in there!

 

[Scarlet1984]

We were talking to our accountant and lawyer about setting up a trust that all inherited funds would go to and have that trust pay directly to our children. Lots of language around it but will be all about our son's, their kids and not so much their wives.

Any significant assets (that is all relative of course) should go into a trust rather than direct pay out.

Also, I think the wise move is to have the will structured in such a way that - upon the death of the first spouse - basically half the assets going into a trust (for the benefit of the surviving spouse and the kids). Basically, protects half the assets from a potential remarriage unless they are really needed.

 

[SteveVA2]

Neither my wife or I retired early. I went out at 72, 81 now, and my wife in her late 60s now approaching 80. We each had 30 year or so federal jobs, and worked second careers for a state university and the corresponding state government. Besides our four pensions, we have a combined four RMDs and social security. Our federal jobs gIves us medical coverage beyond Medicare. While our work had great social utility we were glad to retire.

Our lengthy careers allowed us to buy a house in a resort community five rows back from the ocean, give a substantial amount of money yearly to our child, make numerous QCDs (including to RU), and travel frequently, which we also did during our working years.

We wouldn’t have had it any other way.

 

[rutgersdave]

Something else to consider, enjoying the time off when you can. I retired two years ago at age 65. Cost of health insurance was big decider. Waited until eligible for Medicare. Not long after let wife retire at 63 1/2 and paid Cobra for two years until she was 65 and eligible. Glad I went when I did. Had lot to keep me busy and two great years of taking it easy and doing what I wanted when I wanted. Hiking, fishing, hunting, golf, working on my model trains and lawn work when I wanted. Then out of blue medical problems reared up. From time spent in woods over the years I contracted Lymes disease and didn't know it. In Nov caught up to me and within 36 hours went from spending the day mowing, weed wacking and fishing, to wobbly legs that night, to not being able to stand on my own. Basically lost all nerve function from belly button down. Four months later still in a wheelchair slowly learning to use a walker without help. And nerves are painfully coming back so have hope.
But not really about me, I'm just saying you have no clue what might happen down the road and my feeling is if you have the ability to retire and enjoy life now go for it.

Life expectancy for men in U.S. falls to 73 years — six years less than for women, per study

American men's life expectancy is now 73.2 years, compared with women's 79.1. While women generally live longer than men, the gap has expanded in recent years.

www.statnews.com

The picture is especially concerning for men, whose life expectancy is now 73.2 years, compared with women’s 79.1. This 5.9 year gap is the widest between the two genders since 1996.

people should retire as soon as possible.

 

[koleszar]

Life expectancy for men in U.S. falls to 73 years — six years less than for women, per study

American men's life expectancy is now 73.2 years, compared with women's 79.1. While women generally live longer than men, the gap has expanded in recent years.

www.statnews.com

The picture is especially concerning for men, whose life expectancy is now 73.2 years, compared with women’s 79.1. This 5.9 year gap is the widest between the two genders since 1996.

people should retire as soon as possible.

Down in Naples, we moved my mother into a retirement home, next stop will be assisted living down the street. She has no desire to come live with us in NJ. In the dining room there was around 40 women and 4 men. I looked at my wife and said, "Wow, it's true, you women really do kill us off".

 

[bethlehemfan]

Down in Naples, we moved my mother into a retirement home, next stop will be assisted living down the street. In the dining room there were 40 women and 4 men. I looked at my wife and said, "Wow, it's true, you women really do kill us off".

lol. Men kill themselves off but you are into something haha

 

[Knight Shift]

Down in Naples, we moved my mother into a retirement home, next stop will be assisted living down the street. She has no desire to come live with us in NJ. In the dining room there was around 40 women and 4 men. I looked at my wife and said, "Wow, it's true, you women really do kill us off".

Men do it to themselves. Poor diet. Lack of exercise. Pops died at 70 from complications of heart disease and diabetes. We tried to get him to eat right and do some exercise, merely walking with my mother. Could not break the cycle. I won't go out like like that. With my luck, will probably go out like this-I already used up 2 of my 9 lives:

 

[bethlehemfan]

Men do it to themselves. Poor diet. Lack of exercise. Pops died at 70 from complications of heart disease and diabetes. We tried to get him to eat right and do some exercise, merely walking with my mother. Could not break the cycle. I won't go out like like that. With my luck, will probably go out like this-I already used up 2 of my 9 lives:

View embedded media

It’s because their brides drive them crazy!!! lol. Just kidding… NOT.

 

[Knight Shift]

It’s because their brides drive them crazy!!! lol. Just kidding… NOT.

Back to the same film, this is not that far from reality for some men:

Funny thing, however, George Kennedy lived to 91.

 

[Scarlet1984]

Life expectancy for men in U.S. falls to 73 years — six years less than for women, per study

American men's life expectancy is now 73.2 years, compared with women's 79.1. While women generally live longer than men, the gap has expanded in recent years.

www.statnews.com

The picture is especially concerning for men, whose life expectancy is now 73.2 years, compared with women’s 79.1. This 5.9 year gap is the widest between the two genders since 1996.

people should retire as soon as possible.

Life expectancy (per SSA) for a man who turned 60 today is 83.2. (A 62 year old would have a life expectancy of 83.6.)

I think that is more relevant to this conversation.

 

[Knight Shift]

Life expectancy (per SSA) for a man who turned 60 today is 83.2. (A 62 year old would have a life expectancy of 83.6.)

I think that is more relevant to this conversation.

Good thread here on life expectancy predictors. Another one is "dead hang" time from a pullup bar, which has a strong correlation with longevity.



And contrary to the crap that is propagated by government authorities, IMO (and many longevity experts), these 2 things are key:



Edit- however, an unfortunate event such as lyme disease, an accident, cancer etc, can quickly derail a good life plan.

 

[RUinPinehurst]

Down in Naples, we moved my mother into a retirement home, next stop will be assisted living down the street. She has no desire to come live with us in NJ. In the dining room there was around 40 women and 4 men. I looked at my wife and said, "Wow, it's true, you women really do kill us off".

And... your lovely wife's reaction to your observation was?

 

[tom1944]

Life expectancy (per SSA) for a man who turned 60 today is 83.2. (A 62 year old would have a life expectancy of 83.6.)

I think that is more relevant to this conversation.

I hope I have my parents genetics because they smoked 5 packs of cigarettes a day until my dad was in his mid 40’s and my mom was in her 60’s and they are 90 and 91 now.

One thing there are 5 of us to help them while my daughter is an only child so the ability to have her help us compared to how we can help my parents would be impossible.

It is good I bought her that pillow with handles.

 

[tom1944]

Good thread here on life expectancy predictors. Another one is "dead hang" time from a pullup bar, which has a strong correlation with longevity.

View embedded media

And contrary to the crap that is propagated by government authorities, IMO (and many longevity experts), these 2 things are key:

View embedded media

Edit- however, an unfortunate event such as lyme disease, an accident, cancer etc, can quickly derail a good life plan.

I know at least 4 events in my dads life that he could have easily died and he survived.

As a kid I would not have been surprised if he had an accidental death.

 

[Knight Shift]

I know at least 4 events in my dads life that he could have easily died and he survived.

As a kid I would not have been surprised if he had an accidental death.

I'm up to 2- fell from a second story while fighting a fire in my 20s. Had I fallen 6 inches in one direction, I may have been impaled by a metal pole. Beat cancer in 2014. The latter event provided a whole new perspective on living life, priorities and spending more time doing good and spreading joy.

 

[Crazed_RU]

Something else to consider, enjoying the time off when you can. I retired two years ago at age 65. Cost of health insurance was big decider. Waited until eligible for Medicare. Not long after let wife retire at 63 1/2 and paid Cobra for two years until she was 65 and eligible. Glad I went when I did. Had lot to keep me busy and two great years of taking it easy and doing what I wanted when I wanted. Hiking, fishing, hunting, golf, working on my model trains and lawn work when I wanted. Then out of blue medical problems reared up. From time spent in woods over the years I contracted Lymes disease and didn't know it. In Nov caught up to me and within 36 hours went from spending the day mowing, weed wacking and fishing, to wobbly legs that night, to not being able to stand on my own. Basically lost all nerve function from belly button down. Four months later still in a wheelchair slowly learning to use a walker without help. And nerves are painfully coming back so have hope.
But not really about me, I'm just saying you have no clue what might happen down the road and my feeling is if you have the ability to retire and enjoy life now go for it.

I can relate to your Lyme disease. i Went on a hike with about 10 friends in late October of 2022 and thought nothing of it. In early December I got a significant fever and aches for a couple days that we chalked up to Covid but then seemingly quickly recovered. For the next 10 months I was getting weird joint swelling that went from one ankle, to my elbows, then to jaw/tooth pain,. Each time I would go to the relevant doctor (podiatrist, dentist, etc.) and nothing was diagnosed. When the swelling went to one of my knees I went to an orthopedic who told me to stop playing basketball at 53 years of age, but also ordered blood work. Sure enough I had Lyme Disease. Took awhile to get it all out of my system but it caused a crap ton of unexplained health issues and finally got the right blood test to find the issue. I hope you get well soon.

 

[e5fdny]

I'm up to 2- fell from a second story while fighting a fire in my 20s. Had I fallen 6 inches in one direction, I may have been impaled by a metal pole. Beat cancer in 2014. The latter event provided a whole new perspective on living life, priorities and spending more time doing good and spreading joy.

It’s all true, on the joy part. 😝

 

[RUinPinehurst]

I hope I have my parents genetics because they smoked 5 packs of cigarettes a day until my dad was in his mid 40’s and my mom was in her 60’s and they are 90 and 91 now.

One thing there are 5 of us to help them while my daughter is an only child so the ability to have her help us compared to how we can help my parents would be impossible.

It is good I bought her that pillow with handles.

There's an old expression related to your genetic composition: "Your mother's brother." Meaning, your are very closely matched genetically to your mom's brother/s vs, say, your pop or his kin.

 

[RobertG]

Men do it to themselves. Poor diet. Lack of exercise. Pops died at 70 from complications of heart disease and diabetes. We tried to get him to eat right and do some exercise, merely walking with my mother. Could not break the cycle. I won't go out like like that. With my luck, will probably go out like this-I already used up 2 of my 9 lives:

View embedded media

My Dad is going to be 85 in April and Mom 82 at the end of this month. They emigrated from Italy in the 50's, Dad worked for the US Army then retired with a pension and health care. He and my Mom moved back to Italy where they built a house on my grandfather's old farm outside of Naples, where they spend their time taking care of the Olive Trees and Fruit trees on their land as well as visiting relatives and neighbors and eating great food while drinking a lot of espresso. Eating well, stress free living, and walking in the country and having access to great health care (here in the US) really helps with the longevity.

 

[tom1944]

There's an old expression related to your genetic composition: "Your mother's brother." Meaning, your are very closely matched genetically to your mom's brother/s vs, say, your pop or his kin.

He is 14 years younger than my mom and doing fine health wise so far.