Would increasing full retirement age to 69 save Social Security? - AMAC & MarketWatch
Insolvency is just a decade away for Social Security. The usual choices to rescue the program are raising taxes, cutting benefits, and increasing the full retirement age (FRA). No single option “solves” the problem, and Jessica Hall of MarketWatch explains as much in this piece about taking FRA from 67 to 69. The Congressional Budget Office and other experts did analysis at Rep. Brendan Boyle’s (D-PA) request and found a two year change in FRA that affects new but not existing Social Security beneficiaries (beginning with 1965 birth year) is not enough to significantly help change the insolvency date for Social Security, as new beneficiaries account for just about 5% of total spending. Further, the change in FRA would be gradually phased in with full impact not occurring until the insolvency date already occurred.
But, any plan to raise FRA could go to age 70 and also begin sooner than waiting until those born in 1965. That would yield greater savings. In addition, advocates of raising the FRA note that the long term solvency for successive generations is the goal, not just getting past 2034.
Full piece here.
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. This can be achieved without tax increases by slight modifications to cost of living adjustments and payments to high income beneficiaries plus gradually increasing the full (but not early) retirement age. AMAC Action, AMAC’s advocacy arm, supports an increase in the threshold where benefits are taxed and then indexing for inflation, and calls for eliminating the reduction in people’s benefits for those choosing to work before full retirement age. 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.