thanks, and yes, a pittance of a pension and regular checkups keep us on budget and head off any problems — best decision i ever made (financial or otherwise) was serving our country doing search - and - rescue, oil and chemical spill remediation, etc. (you can guess the branch of service)-- along the way, frugal living, along with dollar - cost averaging, asset allocation, and
diversification allowed us to retire early — Vanguard has been very good over the years, despite the Dot Bomb, 2002, and the recession (where we actually came out better with a modest but bargain retirement home purchase)... it's not easy building
additional «legs» on a retirement platform, but now that we're here, cash, real estate, investments and insurance products, along with a small pension all help to avoid any real dependence on social security (we won't even
need it at full retirement age)-- however, like nearly everybody, we're headed for Medicare in several years, albeit with a nice supplemental and pharmacy benefits — but our main concern is staying fit, active, and healthy!