How would Americans react if the government tried to raise the retirement age again ?

26 comments

1. I’m already set to be pissed if SS runs out.

2. Probably not. I wish we’d be more like the French when it comes to this sort of thing.

   EDIT: See below ⬇️

3. Eh. Most of my peers assume the politicians are going to screw up social security long before we retire.

4. What shocks me is that republican politicians all want to drastically reduce or get rid of social security, yet poor and middle class people still vote for them. (Montana governor Gianforte said Noah lived to be 950 and worked until the end, so we all should, too. I kid you not.) When our social security is reduced, changed, or demolished, they’ll 100% blame liberals.

5. Depends entirely what is meant by ‘raise the retirement age’. Most people have no idea what this means for them.

   Raising the SS age? And/or Raising the tax-free Roth IRA age? Lowering the mandatory 401k withdrawal age?

   Most people don’t have a pension fund, so specifics matter. *For the most part*, retirement regulations have benefited the investor. However, to take advantage of this….*you have to invest.*

6. Nothing would happen, at most you’ll see a hashtag and some peaceful protests.

   Democrats and Republicans both love implementing austerity measures and there’s no real material political action from the populace.

7. Which retirement age? Full social security benefits?

   For social security, I think most younger Americans are cynical and don’t necessarily expect to get benefits at all, so might be unlikely to get too angry because of that.

8. Expect it to happen so I’ll probably just go about my day

9. I don’t plan on relying on social security benefits at all when I retire (a long time away)

10. What’s the point? It’s already at 67. They keep raising it as the life expectancy for humans remains stagnant. By the time I retire there might not even be the illusion of retirement. I think everyone would resist.

11. I’m not risking being dependent solely on Social Security alone, so I am saving for my own retirement. I don’t trust that it will be solvent when I reach retirement age, or that benefits won’t have been reduced by then.

12. I don’t really care and I don’t thinking most millennials will either. The boomers would throw a shit fit but most younger people I know don’t believe they’ll ever be able to retire anyway.

    I’m a millennial and social security is going to run out of money unless they raise the retirement age drastically. Even if social security somehow still exists by the time I hit 65 or 70 the idiots in our government will have inflated away it’s purchasing power. My 401K may or may not be worth anything especially if some future administration changes the tax deferred status of it. I’ll just work till I’m no longer physically able to and see what my options are.

13. I see it as a given.

    There were over 40 workers per social security recipient when it was implemented. There will be 2 workers per recipient when I (hopefully) retire. That is not sustainable.

    The income cap on payroll taxes needs to be raised but that’s not going to fix social security. As life expectancy (hopefully) increases, the retirement age will have to increase as well. I don’t necessarily like it but accept reality.

    I’m planning for retirement on the assumption that I will get $0 from social security.

14. Americans would do nothing. We are too busy to protest and parking at the protest site would be a challenge. We don’t have alternative means to get around most places here.

    I personally am already upset about……..gestures all around* …….all of this bullshit. But what can I do really?

15. I’m already resigned to the fact that I will never see my social security money. If I see anything it’ll be a token amount that is actually worth nothing. I’ve been fucked before I even entered into the system.

16. I’d support it. We’re running out of social security money because, back when FDR created it, the retirement age was well above the average life expectancy. The system simply wasn’t designed to handle this many people.

17. I’m planning on social security being completely useless by the time I’m ready to retire, so I’m doing my best to plan accordingly. If it’s there, great, it just means I’ll have more money to golf or whatever with.

18. Assuming you’re referring to SS, that is one partial solution to making it solvent. Right now, it’s expected to “run out” of money in 2034-35. With that said, SS outlays don’t really run out, it just wouldn’t be enough to pay for everyone drawing so it’s expected that most retirees would only have some 70% of their full checks. Of course, I don’t thing Congress is going to alienate the most important voting block for either party by making them take that haircut so I could see the difference paid out of the Treasury. As far as making it solvent, if it happens I’d imagine it’ll be a combination of raising retirement age and increasing the FICA percentage everyone pays.

19. Social Security employee here, this has been discussed repeatedly over the last couple of decades, and the two most viable ways to keep Social Security afloat have not changed: raise the payroll tax, increase the retirement age, or some combination of the two.

    Raising the payroll tax from 12.4% to 14.4% would generate enough money (from projections) to keep it solvent for at least another 75 years, if not more (the only other way to achieve that would be to decrease everyone’s social security benefits across the board by 13%). It’s worth noting too, that the 2% raise suggested above would be split between the employer and the employee, so it would only be a 1% tax increase for the beneficiary (unless they’re self employed).

    Although it has been discussed, no one seems to have proposed raising the maximum retirement age yet, but I feel that’s inevitable. People are living longer, it use to be you would only expect social security for 5-10 years max, now it’s more like 15-20 years average. The original calculations for the benefit system are no longer viable due to this, so a change in beneficiary age is likely. I expect to see in my lifetime a raise to 68 as the normal retirement age, although there will be much kicking and screaming if it does.

    There currently isn’t much support for raising the age, as the right doesn’t isn’t too keen on Social Security as an institution (believing people can manage there own money) and the left doesn’t want to raise the age because their constituent’s aren’t opposed to it.

    I’m know there has been much talk about France raising their retirement age, but I did not see any alternatives proposed to make up the shortcomings in funds needed to keep the program continuing (It has suffered numerous defect is in the last decade, so changing to its benefits were inevitable eventually).

    Ultimately, it’s not a conclusion that people like to discuss, but as as people start living longer, funding will have to come from somewhere. That’s my $.02 at least

20. >unfair laws ?

    Raising the age in which government benefits may accrue to reflect (a) longer life expectancies, and (b) an aging population which cannot be supported by a smaller, younger work force, is not unfair. It’s a financial reality. I’d much rather see that than the elimination of anti-poverty government programs like Social Security.

21. There would be some protests but that wouldn’t stop Congress from going forward with their plan

22. It should also be pointed out that any changes to Social Security will result in those already born being grandfathered in under the current system. The changes will affect those born after the new rules are made, just so everyone understands that.

23. Most Americans can’t afford to retire at the current retirement age anyway, so…..

24. I’m still 30+ years away from retirement so I wouldn’t really care if the social security age was raised a couple years. If trends continue I’ll only get a fraction of it anyway.

25. I think younger people would be okay with it. What’s two years when it’s 40 away?

    GenX would probably be okay. We’re used to disappointment.

    The older folks closer to retirement would have an issue.

26. Probably a similar reaction to Trump trying to repeal the ACA or Bush trying to privatize social security. A lot of angry town halls and constituents calling their representatives. Eventually those pushing for it would give up and push the issue down the road.