I am talking about the age when you can collect social security, pensions and medicare. The current age 65 (62 for some) worked when the average life expectancy was 70 year. The average person would work for 40-50 years, retire and collect benefits for 5 year or so. Now that people live until 90+, the number 65 doesn't make sense to me. You work for 40-50 years and collect benefits for 25 plus years. You are an unproductive citizen for about half your life. If you look at the military when you can join at 18 and leave after 20 years, that person can collect retirement benefits for 50 years. I'm definitely left leaning but the math just doesn't work. I think the sooner the average american figures this out, the better.
My numbers are way off but the point is still the same. According to the CDC the average life expectancy for white male in 1970 was around 67 years old and now its about 74 years. So were are talking about a benefit change of 400%. The average black male in in the 1970 didn't even collect social security because he only lived until he was 60 where as now the average life expectancy is about 67. I don't see how we can afford to pay 4 times the social security as we used to and this is not counting the baby boomers.
Social Security was a bad joke played by Roosevelt against the American people. When Social Security started in the 1930s, life expectancy at birth was 60, and life expectancy at 21 was 66. 44% of workers who paid into the Social Security were expected to receive no benefit. It was set up as a way to increase income taxes almost across the board with less complaint. Need more money for entitlements or wars? Can't sell bonds? Just borrow from the Social Security Trust Fund. Raising the retirement age is a good start, but a better idea is to get the younger taxpayers out of the broken system, and reduce their SS Tax load to whatever is necessary to support those already retired.
Have you been to India? I have. Send your parents... and then get back to us. As for mucking around with the retirement age for SS? Just grandfather me in. I'm closer than most of you. Some of you might consider an old adage. There are lies, damn lies, and then there are statistics. For every story you read about 90 year old folks playing rounds of golf and carrying their own bags, there are far more in their 60's with various health problems that make it difficult to work and who need that SS income. Something to ponder. Impeach Bush.
Many people retire prior to 65, due to their health or losing their job. They may want (or financially even have) to work to 65+; they just can not.
