From Are Older Workers Capable Of Working Longer by Laura D. Quinby and Gal Wettstein, published by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College:
Disability-free life expectancy had been rising continuously in the United States until 2010, suggesting working longer as a solution for those financially unprepared for retirement. However, recent developments suggest improvements in working life expectancy have stalled, especially for minorities and those with less education. This paper uses data from the National Vital Statistics System, the American Community Survey, and the National Health Interview Survey to assess how recent trends in institutionalization, physical impediments to work, and mortality have affected working life expectancy for men and women age 50, by race and education.
The paper found that:
- The capacity to work to older ages is still increasing for high-education individuals and low-education Black women.
- However, no progress has been observed for low-education whites of all genders and Black men.
- As a result, large shares of those still working at age 62 will be incapable of working even two more years.
The policy implications of the findings are:
- Raising Social Security eligibility ages may reduce the financial security of large segments of the population.
- These impacts will be particularly pronounced for Black men and low-education white individuals of all genders. ...
8 comments:
It's clear the only "good" thing about raising the retirement age is the fact it "saves the trust funds" (without raising taxes). God forbid taxes got raised, ya know? At least these guys are open about teh negatives.
The article seems to be about raising the eligibility age (62), not the FRA.Both are bad ideas. Raising the FRA is a benefit cut for everyone. Raising the eligibility age would be very bad for those who cannot work until 62, and is bad for those who expect to (and then do) live less than the average life expectancy. The latter wouldn't save Social Security much money.
The closer I get to retirement the more I realize that my plans to explore and camp the national park system may be out of reach by the time I retire. It is getting harder to do those activities and sustaining them for a week or two may be something I should have done years ago. Work life balance is such a joke when they want you to work till you have no life left.
Raising the FRA is a terrible idea. If the funds are short, increase the amount that can be taxed for social security. That cap is what's out of date.
I just went for a few weeks. It was fun but a bit less than 30 years ago. Love the national parks though.
Raise the cap and get it over with.
Maybe someone working a very cushy office job (looking at you ALJs)can keep working longer but blue collar and even pink collar workers get beat up on the job whether its physical or mental. Enough already. Raise the cap, leave age limits alone and cut congressional salaries/benefits for the actual congressional members not their staff to save money.
Maybe they could combine two of the right’s favorite things: raising the retirement age and a means test. The more means you have, the higher your FRA will be. It might somewhat protect the trust and as well protect the workers who can’t feasibly work until their mid- to late 60s.
A few comments:
1. "The more you have saved, the higher your FRA"? Seriously? So, don't save and retire early. Is that what you meant to encourage?
2. The _capacity_ to work at an older age may be going up, but the opportunities are not. Age discrimination is real. Get a clue, people.
3. I am a knowledge worker turning 64 this month and I can tell you that the brain ages, too. It can be every bit as much a challenge to be an aging knowledge worker as it is to be an aging physical laborer. Don't be so quick to think that only some classes need early retirement.
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