Is increasing Social Security’s full retirement age on the horizon? - Yahoo! Finance
Social Security’s full retirement age (FRA) is the point at which you get 100% of the monthly benefit you’ve earned from a lifetime of working. Right now, the FRA for anyone born in 1960 or later is age 67. And, considering that the average life expectancy for someone in their mid-60s has steadily increased to the point that the average longevity is now mid-80s, some are suggesting that, perhaps, it’s time to consider raising Social Security’s full retirement age as well, in the interest of restoring Social Security to a solid financial footing. This is the main point of this Motley Fool article by Maurie Backman, appearing at Yahoo! Finance.
As an example of the leading thoughts on reforming Social Security, the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC, Inc.) believes Social Security must be preserved and modernized to meet the demands of 21st-century economics. AMAC’s position is that this can be achieved without payroll tax increases via relatively slight program modifications, including cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) process changes and modifications to the formulas for calculation of payments to higher-income beneficiaries. Changes to the age for maximizing benefits are included in AMAC’s position, along with (1) an increase in the thresholds where benefits are subject to income tax; (2) indexing of these thresholds annually to account for inflation; (3) improved survivor benefits, (4) eliminating the reduction in benefits for those choosing to work before full retirement age; and (5) improved savings tools for future retirees, including a savings account that builds estate value. AMAC is resolute in its mission that Social Security be preserved for current and successive generations and has gotten the attention of lawmakers in D.C., meeting with many congressional offices and staff over the past decade. Click here to see AMAC’s proposal to restore Social Security to solvency.