[george kujanski]

My situation is similar to poncho-mike, career-wise also. I enjoyed my job so I kept working after retirement age, and then my company offered a buyout, so I took the buyout and then contracted with them for a few more years. My wife retired way earlier than I did.

Didn't file for SS until I reached the max benefit, and recently my contract was terminated, so I am officially retired.
Thankfully, I'm pretty healthy.

Sure, retire early if you can, especially if you hate working. The roadblocks are: you need to be able to exist on your income and, very important, have medical insurance. If private insurance is too expensive, you may need to wait for Medicare eligibility at 65.

BTW, as we get older, sh!t happens, so don't avoid checking your health. In our area, there is an organization named LifeLine than does Ultrasound screening of your bod for a cost of about $150. Very reasonable to detect carotid artery issues, extremity issues, etc. Saved the life of a friend of mine when they detected an Abdominal Aortic Aneurism that was ready to pop. They called an ambulance right there.

Good luck to all!

George