Hi Lannie. You are a-lot younger than I am (judging by your photo). If I were 30 I might consider working at a lower rate — in fact, I did just that once. I even took two years off.

But I am 63, and I don’t have enough saved to retire, and I cannot retire on what Social Security would pay me. It is very expensive to live in northern Virginia. My wife and I rent a townhouse. If someone were to take more of my income, we would have to downsize to an apartment — at the age of 63 — and I would have the prospect of working until I drop dead. And no, I don’t really enjoy the work I do — I do it because it is what I know.

If only the government would take less — I could have saved enough to retire. They take so much of what I earn, and give me back none of it.

Take a trip to your local Social Security office and look around. You will see it filled with people who are obviously not retirement age, and most foreign born. I don’t know what they are collecting, but what they are collecting comes from what I contributed — and which I will never recoup.