There is a never-ending battle to try and figure out ways Social Security can save money so it will continue to be able to pay retirement and disability benefits for generations to come. Whether the goal is to extend the life of Social Security or even increase benefits one consideration that does come up frequently is to increase the age in which Americans are eligible for full Social Security retirement benefits.
Currently that age is 66 and will increase to 67 for anyone born 1960 and later. Originally the full retirement age was 65, but it was increased gradually to help extend the life of Social Security. Now, there are people saying that the retirement age should increase once again.
When Social Security was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1935 the average life expectancy in the United States was just 61 years of age. So the average life expectancy was four years less than the age in which people could start collecting Social Security. Today the latest someone must wait to collect full retirement benefits is age 67 and the life expectancy as of 2010 was 79 years old.
As you can see one major problem is that people are collecting Social Security for a lot longer than they used to be and the trend will only continue as life expectancy continues to increase. By increasing the retirement age to say, 70, it would ensure a bit more money is paid into Social Security before it can be taken out, but is it really the best way to fix Social Security?
The answer is no. We believe Social Security benefits should be increased and the longer the better. Americans should not have to work their fingers to the bone and then try to survive the poverty wages Social Security pays out for their few remaining years. Increasing Social Security taxes and expanding income limits on the amounts of income Social Security taxes apply to are much better answers.
