Today, people are living longer and working longer
- Because of this fact, one new study by Anne L. Alstott, a Yale Law School professor,
- calls for Social Security reform to extend the full retirement age from 67 to 76
- in an effort to reward those who work longer.
The study proposes a progressive retirement age
- in which lower-income earners receive a higher % of benefits starting at younger ages.
- current system poses a disadvantage to this population
- because they tend to die earlier.
- Higher earners are at less of a disadvantage
- because many earned – and presumably saved – more money for retirement
- over the course of their lifetime at jobs that are less physically damaging to their health.
The study stratifies retirees into 2 categories:
1. the well-off, who
- tend to remain healthy and active
- until about age 80,
- they would initially receive only 20% of their max benefits
2. lower earners, with
- limited job options after age 65.
- if claimed early, they would receive 90% of their maximum benefit
3. All payouts would increase at age 76.3
The study posits that a later retirement age would:
- encourage more working years and
- create more prosperity for both the U.S. economy and individual households.
Others believe the same economic boost could be provided by
- adding Social Security incentives.
_________________________________________
Chris Farrell. MarketWatch. Nov. 7, 2016. “Should the Social Security retirement age be 76?” http://www.marketwatch.com/story/should-the-social-security-retirement-age-be-76-2016-11-07