The retirement age is getting higher, but who does that benefit?
Recently raising the retirement age has been up for debate within Congress as a result of the decreasing amount of money for aid left for people who will retire within the next decade. Because of this, there is a possibility that older people would not be able to receive all the benefits that government aid programs like Social Security and Medicare.
The retirement age has been increasing steadily in America for years now. In 2003, it was only 65. Now, it is 67, with the government considering bringing it up to 70. Thankfully, Congress has said that this will most likely not occur. Even so, there is still a chance: after all, America is not the first country to consider raising the retirement age.
In France, since Jan 22 citizens have been protesting on the streets against the government, which has not been acting according to the people’s will and is planning to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64. Although this is not seen as unusual for Americans, it is for the French. The French have a very different work mentality. Most notably, they dislike the workaholic mindset characteristic of America, and instead, exercise a work-life balance.
Social Security needs to match the work life of those today, with people believing that as time goes on with people living longer they will work longer. By raising the retirement age they would set a new standard and new reality.
The negatives of the retirement age being raised is that with looking forward to taking your break and finally being able to relax, you won’t even get all the full benefits you thought you were. Not only will the increase affect the government’s promise to the people of having benefits, but also does not help minorities and poorer communities. The earlier you decide to start taking some of your benefits the fewer payments you’ll receive the older you get. It’s also not beneficial because the older people get the harder it is to work due to older age and illnesses.
Chris Kampitsis, a financial planner, explains the disadvantages an increased retirement age can have on those who planned their life around it, and looked forward to the benefits it offered.
“One of the biggest disadvantages of raising the Social Security retirement age is that people paid into the system and planned using a certain set of assumptions that will now be delayed. Should they choose to retire earlier, they will have a bigger gap to fill should they choose to defer Social Security to ‘full retirement age’ or beyond.” said Kampitsis.
There may be some benefits with the rise of the retirement age. We could potentially stop ageism in the workplace. But is that even a big problem that needs to be fixed or even be worried about?
There are definitely more negatives to increasing the retirement age. Many of the changes do seem like they will benefit others in the future, but not those who have worked hard for it up til now. Many are already struggling to keep working till 62 years old, it would be much harsher to make them work longer just to collect all the benefits they have worked up to.
