http://www.economist.com/node/21547263
The point of this article is largely that the current retirement age is too low and needs to be raised. When 65 was decided on, it was above the average life expectancy. Now, however, life expectancy is almost 80 in the United States and more and more people are continuing to claim benefits long after it was expected they'd be gone. This has put unprecedented pressure on the Social Security system within The United States.
While I agree that steps need to be taken to help alleviate the problems with Social Security, I am not convinced that raising the retirement age is the best solution. As we discussed in class, the most economically efficient or logical course of action may not always bring the most good to society. Raising the retirement age will lead to many who have begun their twilight years to have to work until they die. Society has come a long way since the first social security programs, and the expectations people have towards work and retirement have changed since then, making this idea one that would be very hard to actually see implemented.
6 comments:
While it seems more 'just' to not raise the retirement age and provide a steady income for those not working, you also have to look at the economic feasibility of the issue. It's never beneficial to have a program based on completely unrealistic numbers that ends up running a significant amount over cost. While it may not be beneficial to society to try to encourage workers to continue to work beyond 65, it is also not beneficial to expect a smaller amount of workers to provide income for an increasing number of retirees.
The debate on Social Security in the States have been ongoing for decades now yet I find it beneficial to bring back one historical fact.
In 2000 during the presidential debate, the issue of the SS trust fund has been brought up. Blessed by a decade of strong economic growth, the U.S. government ended up having quite a bit of surplus and there was talk to invest that amount in the SS trust fund. However, when Bush was elected, he ended up spending the money via tax-cut in an unsuccessful attempt to further boost economic growth. The SS is now likely to be depleted in a very few decades and our debt is too huge to put more chips into the fund.
Another possible remedy is to extend the number of years taken into the SS pay-out formula. Right now, only the 35 years with best income shall be taken into consideration. If we extend the range to the best 40 years, we can quite significantly reduce the pay out, thus delaying the depletion of the fund.
I believe that we should look at age differently, like using prospective age. But this still need more research to determine how we should look at age in the future. However, raising retirement age is not a long term solution; as the life-expectancy continues to increase, it would not be fair for future generation. In addition, working longer doesn't necessarily mean people are going to contribute the same.
Even if the retirement age has to change,The Social Security system still provides a safety net for those who are disabled or are unemployed. Social Security may need to be looked at more of a means for social assistance rather than a retirement fund.
I agree with the author that: "many reckon old people should get out of the way so that the young can take their jobs, a sentiment expressed recently by Lucy Kellaway, a Financial Times columnist, who wrote that “the young can’t advance because everywhere they find my complacent generation is in situ.” and that this is quite false. I also agree when she said that that same argument was in place for preventing women from joining the workforce--and it turned out to be malarkey.
Old people are not taking jobs from young people. If anything, young people are taking jobs from old people. With the thigh tech-orientated genre of jobs available out there today, many old people are having trouble finding work.
I just hope this situation gets a bit more settled by the time I get to that age! I think most of us will agree that work is not likely to be fun after a 40 year career I want to be able to retire in good time, collect some money, and relax!
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