Op-ed: Don’t Raise Retirement Age. But is that advice even possible? - AMAC & MarketWatch
That Social Security needs reform is generally not in dispute. Reasonable people on all sides usually differ over how to shore up the program, not whether it needs shoring up. But Alicia Munnell of MarketWatch curiously seems not to acknowledge that, as no suggestion is put forward here other than to say do not cut Social Security benefits. Period. She argues raising the full retirement age from 67 to any higher age would mean a cut in benefits for anyone starting benefits before the new age. While that’s true, the author fails to note that everyone’s benefits will be cut across the board by over 20% in just over a decade if nothing is done. The other options to raising the retirement age are raising taxes on workers or cutting benefits. There’s no easy solution, and the longer nothing is done, the greater the pain to be felt by more. Indeed, one of the first comments beneath the article asks this: “Author: Do you have a good alternative? I see a complaint but no solution.”
Read Munnell’s full op-ed here.
The Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC) believes Social Security must be preserved and modernized. This can be achieved with no tax increases by changing cost of living adjustments, the retirement age, and delayed credits. AMAC advocates for a bipartisan compromise, “The Social Security Guarantee Act,” taking selected portions of bills introduced by former Rep. Johnson (R-TX) and current Rep. Larson (D-CT) and merging them with the Association’s own research. One component is Social Security PLUS, a voluntary plan to allow all earners to have more income at retirement. This component is intended to appeal especially to younger workers. AMAC is resolute in its mission that Social Security be preserved and modernized and has gotten the attention of lawmakers in DC, meeting with a great many congressional offices and their staffs over the past several years. Read AMAC’s plan here.