Yep. I retired two years ago and have simply opted out of this mess. The key was making the main aspect of my retirement plan twofold:
1. Live in an area where the cost of living and, especially, taxes, are absurdly low.
2. Be debt free.
It’s paid off in spades. When one pays the price of a pizza in property taxes every month, and has no monthly payments other than power and water, and both are dirt cheap, one’s cost of living is so low that, even living solely on Social Security, one can throw about 2/3 of the monthly payment into savings (or a matress) and pay cash for stuff like cars and guns and ATV’s.
where is thiz utopia?