And I thought he was probably among the oldest! Well, my dad doesn't drink whiskey or smoke cigars, but he does still work out at the gym four days each week (bicycles on a stationary bike 25 miles each day).
Yes, the Republicans will calculate, and they'll really grouse: because people like my dad were born before 1917, that is to say, before the "notch." So they not only have been collecting benefits for more years than they ever dreamed they'd live, but they're collecting it at a higher rate than those born after them. More power to them!
Background
The term “notch” is used to refer to the difference between benefit amounts payable
born after 1916 and those payable to workers with similar earnings histories born in 1916
earlier. The difference resulted from the 1977 amendments to the Social Security Act that
way Social Security benefits are computed.
Benefit Computation Changes
In 1975, automatic yearly cost-of-living adjustments to Social Security benefits were implemented.
However, the method used to compute payment rates tended to overcompensate for inflation.
Because of unusually high inflation in the benefit rates for people initially affected by the
new formula -- generally those born in 1910 and later -- increased dramatically. This
indexation for inflation would have ultimately led to benefit payments higher than pre-retirement
earnings for the average worker. Congress realized that something had to done to stop
benefit rates, restore more appropriate payment levels, and improve the financial condition of the
program. This led to the computation changes in the 1977 amendments and the creation
“notch.”
http://www.ssa.gov/history/pdf/notch.pdf
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