But the really old old, the 90+ group, tends to be quite healthy,
possibly more so than the 60's, on average. Apparently the debilitative
diseases crop up in the 70's and 80s usually, so if you make it past 90
you'll live until you suddenly collapse, because if you were going to
die of anything obvious you would have already.
Although the 120 year old in France is a bit gone physically, she seems
to be in full mental health.
Oh, and America's alleged 120 year old was female. Odd, because
although women generally have longer lifespans (because males kill each
other off?) I think the 90+ group was more male. I could be wrong,
though. [Scientific American was primary source.]
} was first created, the assumption was that only a small minority
} of the people who contributed (i.e., Americans old enough to
} be in the paid workforce) would live long enough to collect
Well yeah. Retirement age: 65. Usual lifespan at the time: 61. By the
same logic SS should kick in in the late 70s or early 80s these days.
Try selling that.
Merry part,
-xx- Damien R. Sullivan X-) <*> http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~phoenix
There's something in my garden, it's been there for a week.
I tried to feed it crackers, but that only made it squeak.
I tried to wash its scaly head, but all it did was cry,
So I think I'll put it back to bed, and sing it a lullaby:
A monster's lullaby: