# Should we increase the age at which people become entitled to Medicare/SS? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 15, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-increase-the-age-at-which-people-become-entitled-to-medicare-ss/647303 "2013-01-15T17:39:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-increase-the-age-at-which-people-become-entitled-to-medicare-ss/647303/41 "2013-01-16T16:21:59Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > And I’m not entirely sure how to quantify **“barely even a blip”** , not to mention comparing that blip to **“all the other options.”** Looks to me as though they acknowledge that raising the age to 70 (.3% change) is equal or greater than approx 1/2 of the other options. Further, they say raising it to 68 would yield .1% change, and that .6% is needed. So maybe the optimum response would be to raise the age slightly - IN COMBINATION WITH - various other factors. > > A well written persuasive article presenting one point of view, but I feel it ought not be considered the final word. Right. A small rise in age, and a moderate increase in the cut-off for FICA taxes, and we’re just fine for another 40-50 years. Yes, even those not in cushy office jobs are living a little longer, which is why I propose a little increase in retirement age. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-increase-the-age-at-which-people-become-entitled-to-medicare-ss/647303/42 "2013-01-16T16:56:17Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Right. A small rise in age, and a moderate increase in the cut-off for FICA taxes, and we’re just fine for another 40-50 years. Yes, even those not in cushy office jobs are living a little longer, which is why I propose a little increase in retirement age. Except they aren’t. Or at least, people in the bottom half of the payscale aren’t. Their life-expectancy has been flat since at least 1977. Moving the retirement age up further disadvantages the people who rely on SS most heavily. There are plenty of combinations of changes that _don’t have this flaw_. > [@Dinsdale](#): > > I totally agree with the premise that raising the retirement age ought not be “the first and best way of attacking entitlement spending”. IMO no brainers include raising if not eliminating the cap on income subject to withholding This alone would put SS into balance. If its a no-brainer and its the first thing you’d do, there isn’t really any point in doing anything else. Compared to eliminating the cap, raising the SS age is indeed “a blip” > [@](#): > > The linked article surely does not identify “dozens and dozens” of discrete changes. Instead, they identify 30 variations within 5 general themes. But “dozens and dozens” does sound more improessive. Heck, why not go a couple of decimal places further and we can talk of thousands or millions of alternatives! Eh, these are pretty weak arguments. The article says there are dozens and dozens of possible changes (which is true), and then says the CBO report lists 30. The CBO report isn’t presented as being a complete list, by either the article or the report itself. Plus, you totally ignored what makes up the bulk of the argument in the article (while instead focusing in on the semantics of what should constitute a “blip” and whether 30 can be fairly characterized as “dozens and dozens”). Raising the retirement age is a change that disproportionately hurts the people that SS was set up to protect. Things like chained CPI, raising the cap, etc. don’t have this flaw, and implementing a few of them would both spread the pain around more evenly, cover the projected shortfall and keep the fundamental structure of the SS program intact). ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-increase-the-age-at-which-people-become-entitled-to-medicare-ss/647303/43 "2013-01-16T17:09:27Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Except they aren’t. Or at least, people in the bottom half of the payscale aren’t. Their life-expectancy has been flat since at least 1977. Moving the retirement age up further disadvantages the people who rely on SS most heavily. There are plenty of combinations of changes that _don’t have this flaw_. > > This alone would put SS into balance. If its a no-brainer and its the first thing you’d do, there isn’t really any point in doing anything else. Compared to eliminating the cap, raising the SS age is indeed “a blip”). Every chart linked to has shown a increase, even among the bottom half of the payscale. True, the increase for white color workers and the better off is large, and the increase for the lower end is smaller, but it’s still in line with the increases of what I suggested. Indeed, it is a no-brainer. BUT in order to pass it, a compromise will be needed. Thus a small increase in age will allow the GOP to vote for a large increase in the cap. Otherwise, it won’t pass. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-increase-the-age-at-which-people-become-entitled-to-medicare-ss/647303/44 "2013-01-16T17:20:01Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Every chart linked to has shown a increase, even among the bottom half of the payscale. True, the increase for white color workers and the better off is large, and the increase for the lower end is smaller, but it’s still in line with the increases of what I suggested. The total increase appears to be less then a year. And I suspect even that would disappear if you moved further down the payscale. Plus we are already increasing the retirement age by two years, so the poor have actually lost ground here. The average person in the lower half of the income scale will collect fewer years of SS then they would’ve in 1977. The gains in life expectancy have already been completely eaten up by changes in the system. > [@](#): > > Indeed, it is a no-brainer. BUT in order to pass it, a compromise will be needed. Thus a small increase in age will allow the GOP to vote for a large increase in the cap. Otherwise, it won’t pass. I disagree. Some compromise might be needed, but there are fairer ways to cut benefits that would both appeal to the GOP without having its impact so narrowly targeted at those least able to afford it. Plus, the system is solvent for another twenty years. Today’s GOP might be intransigent, but its not like there’s a huge rush to do this. And time favours tax increases over benefit cuts (since benefit cuts generally need to be phased in while tax increases can be implemented more quickly). The GOP has an incentive to cut a deal sooner rather then later. ---
**Author:** ![janeslogin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@janeslogin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janeslogin)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-increase-the-age-at-which-people-become-entitled-to-medicare-ss/647303/45 "2013-01-16T17:46:00Z")
What would raising the employment age do the the employment of others? This is a one-off account for sure but I took retirement at the first opportunity because I was doing poorly on the job because of poor health. I was highly paid because of seniority. I was replaced by a younger, better worker, at a much lower starting salary. Were it not for early retirement benefits I might have stayed in my unproductive capacity for several more years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-we-increase-the-age-at-which-people-become-entitled-to-medicare-ss/647303.md?page=2)