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by adam_arthur 14 days ago
The hole can be filled overnight by just raising the retirement age.

And if you normalize for longer lifespans, it's perfectly reasonable.

2 comments

Great, so everyone in their 60s works for a decade more, as their health declines, and everyone under 60 has to deal with the increased unemployment that would cause.

It would be better to just get rid of the loophole for the rentier class (The FICA cap at $186,000), and this actually would be solved.

People are living longer sure, but are they fit for work longer?

Or just living longer with dementia and stuff?

Ya, there are wide different outcomes to consider with respect to health. Also people should really be retiring earlier, not later, as automation picks up. The way things are progressing right now are just whack.
Personally I watched my Grandpa wither away from Parkinsons and eventually Alzheimer's for over a decade, starting only a couple of years after he retired. He spent most of his retired life in hospice care not recognizing his children or grandchildren.

Knowing that is likely my eventual fate too, I really don't want to wait to the last possible minute to retire.

It's a huge shame we can't accurately predict future illnesses and such, we could plan so much more effectively. As it stands we have to do our best and live good lives before we aren't capable of that anymore. Many people won't have a nice retirement. Many won't even live that long in the first place. Society can probably do better for everyone than we currently do

The sad thing is that those people who need social security the most usually have it for the least amount of time. Obviously are priorities suck.