It's true that most of us will never have a house insurance claim while most of us will get some SS, but I'm trying to illustrate that in both cases, everybody pooling their risk is a good thing. It's odd to call living a long life a "risk" but that's what it is. If we knew exactly how long we'd live, we could set aside just the right amount. A lot of people plan for their likely lifespan, but some of them will live much longer. Only a few of us will face this -- does it make sense for all of us to prepare for that?