?As fears about Social Security’s financial solvency continue to grow, momentum is growing behind proposals that would raise the full retirement age from 67 to 70. Some Republican politicians suggest raising the age only for younger workers—those in their 20s or 30s—and not changing it for workers closer to retirement.
But while talk about hiking Social Security eligibility is growing, so is Americans’ dissatisfaction with such potential changes. New polls find the idea is unpopular among the vast majority of Americans, no matter their political affiliation.
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A Possible Bipartisan Proposal
Two senators—Angus King, I-Maine, and Bill Cassidy, R-La.—are leading a proposal to gradually raise the full retirement age to 70 from 67, while also creating a sovereign-wealth fund that would help fund Social Security, according to a media report. The proposal is just in talks right now, and details are still in flux.
(Semafor and MarketWatch)
Majority Oppose the Move
A Quinnipiac poll of 1,795 U.S. adults in March finds that the vast majority of Americans are against such a retirement reform: 78 percent of respondents said they would oppose the federal government raising the full retirement age for Social Security from 67 to 70, while 17 percent said they would support it.
The sentiment is pretty uniform across political parties, as well. Nearly eight in 10 (77 percent) Republican respondents said they would oppose raising the full retirement age for social security, while 81 percent of Democratic respondents and 75 percent of independent respondents agree.
(The Hill)
Pence Calls for ‘Common Sense Reforms’
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is considering a 2024 presidential run, said he’d raise the full retirement age for those who are currently more than 25 years away from retirement. “What we need now is leadership, because if we act in this moment with the support of this generation, we can introduce common sense reforms that will never touch anyone who is in retirement, or anyone who will retire in the next 25 years,” Pence recently told college students.
The talk over increasing the retirement age comes as many worry about the solvency of Social Security. Some estimates say Social Security won’t be able to pay out its promised benefits in about 12 years, while Medicare won’t be able to in just five years.
France Pushes Through Retirement Reform
French President Emmanuel Macron applied a special constitutional power last month to bypass parliament and enact a controversial pensions bill raising the retirement age from 62 to 64.