The Social Security Full Retirement Age – U.S., compared to other countries. - Kiplinger
In this time of uncertainty about the financial stability of our U.S. Social Security program – especially its ability to meet its long term financial obligations – included in the various reform proposals is the concept of raising the U.S. Full Retirement Age (FRA). FRA is the age at which a beneficiary can get 100% of the Social Security benefit they’ve earned.
In the U.S., anyone born in 1960 or later has a Social Security FRA of age 67, although options exist to claim a reduced benefit as early as age 62 and a higher than FRA benefit up to age 70. Obviously, the are many who support raising the FRA to help save the program from financial crisis, but there are also others who wholeheartedly oppose that thought (and that includes many in Congress). So, it might be helpful, in this ongoing debate, to know what other countries are doing, or have done, with respect to their Social Security full retirement age. And this Kiplinger article by Charlotte Gorbold does just that, revealing that many non-U.S. countries have already increased their FRA, and others are already considering it. And, by the way, in terms of features, risks, and shortcomings, the U.S. Social Security program rates only a C+ compared to other nations with similar programs. Click here to read more.
As an example of leading thinking on reforming Social Security, the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC, Inc.) believes Social Security must be preserved and modernized to serve future generations. AMAC’s position is that this can be achieved without payroll tax increases through relatively minor program modifications, including changes to the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) process and modifications to the formulas for calculating initial benefits for 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) changing the taxable maximum formula to address the unintended loss of revenue; (4) improving survivor benefits, (5) eliminating the reduction in benefits for those choosing to work before full retirement age; and (6) improving 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. See AMAC’s proposal for Social Security reform here.