I am from Africa. My mom gets a pension for $30/month for the few years my father worked for the government before passing away. With $30 she can go buy one bag of rice, and maybe enough sugar for one month. MAYBE.

But no one cares. In Africa the retirement is your kids. You take care of your kids, and when they grow up, they take care of you. While this system is sure to keep many under poverty, I prefer it to one where someone who is 77 has to get to work just to ensure he can have the basics.

I respect the way elders think in America. That is they are independent, they help the youngsters as much as they can, and they are just significantly more active than older people where I am from. However I do think it is right for them to have to work past a certain age, especially when they have well-able relatives.