Retirement is something everyone has to deal with eventually. Recently, the subject of retirement age has been brought back up due to videos that have gone viral of Generation Z discussing the retirement age.
Currently, the standard retirement age is 66. Some believe the age is too low, while others believe it is too high.
“No, I do not think the retirement age should be lowered because, at 62, most people will not have enough money to even begin to support themselves,” said Joseph Sloane, a freshman business major. “I think it is perfectly fine where it is right now. I also don’t think it should be raised. I think retirement should just depend on what the person can afford to do. I think government action should be taken in regards to Social Security.”
The conversation surrounding retirement has also made people worry about Social Security running out.
“I don’t think that the current Social Security could handle having more people being supported by it,” Sloane said. “I believe the nation is in a predicament. I think Social Security doesn’t matter and will not be a factor for me in my lifetime because it is expected to run out by 2041.”
According to CNBC, There will soon be a shortage in Social Security. Social Security’s board of trustees has projected that at least a 23% benefit cut may occur when the trust fund used to pay retirement and survivors benefits runs out in 2033.
“I think, with the topic of Social Security, it can definitely have its pros and cons,” said Grayson Riggot, a sophomore education major. “However, it does give somewhat of a protection and foundation for retired people, no matter how long you have been working.”
Some people believe it would benefit everyone to lower the retirement age.
“The retirement age is an interesting topic to think about,” Riggot said. “From my research, the earliest age is 62, which is not too terrible, but I think they could lower the age to maybe potentially 55-60. I think it’s more of a person’s opinion to decide if they want to retire early or at an older age, but having that low retirement age range is a nice little safety net, just in case!”
According to Indeed Flex, reducing the retirement age could shield manual laborers and those with low incomes from being disproportionately impacted, especially if they have physically demanding professions that will get harder as they get older. It lowers the need for social services and healthcare.
But lowering the age can cause certain issues.
The Government Accountability Office, or GAO, states that these suggested increases are mostly justified by the nation’s older population’s improved health and longer life expectancy. Raising the retirement age would increase Social Security’s solvency because it would effectively lower benefits.
“Congress may eventually raise the full retirement age to 69, predicts Andew Biggs, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, even though Democrats have promised not to make that change,” said Lorie Konish at CNBC. “‘When you look at countries around the world that have had underfunded pension systems, they raise the retirement age,’ Biggs said.”
People are so scared about their retirement that they have started relying on the 10% retirement rule, which is where they set aside 10% of each paycheck on their own.
