Final answer:
The idea that retirement at age 65 has been the expectation for the past 100 years is false. Retirement as we understand it today has evolved over time, particularly with the introduction of Social Security and Medicare, and has faced adjustments to accommodate an aging population.
Step-by-step explanation:
The concept that the majority of working men expected to retire at age 65 for the past 100 years is false. Retirement as an institutionalized stage of life is indeed not very old. In the late nineteenth century, most people worked until physically unable to do so. The idea of retirement began changing with the introduction of veterans' pensions post-Civil War. Significant shifts also occurred post-World War II with the introduction of Social Security and further in the 1960s and 1970s with Medicare and increased Social Security benefits.
The modern conception of retirement and the standardization of age 65 as a retirement benchmark emerged with Social Security legislation, which originally set retirement age at 65. However, as time has passed, adjustments have been made, raising the full retirement age to 67 for those born after 1959 to ensure the solvency of the system. Nevertheless, with an aging population and extended life expectancies, concerns arise about the sustainability of the Social Security system, with some predicting potential insolvency by 2037 unless reforms are made.