Thread: Raise Social Security retirement to 70, means-test benefits

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Retirement age has already been raised from 65 to 67, but you can still take early retirement at 62 with reduced payments.

For now. . .

CDC Home

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Life Expectancy
(Data are for the U.S.)

•Life expectancy: 77.9 years

(Don't tell my Mother. She's 90 and still going strong.)

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lifexpec.htm

Originally Posted by oldguy

Problems with social security lies with the misuse of funds by our government and using the fund as welfare for people who have never worked. IMO

I get angry when I see tv shows like Judge Judy or Judge Joe Brown and see people who look perfectly able to work collecting social security benefits. And the advertisers who pay for their shows are all attorneys for people who have been injured, hurt on the job, or just plain abulance chasers. I know someone who is collecting over 1300 in monthly benefits because she is "depressed" due to finances. Arent we all?

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

CDC Home

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Life Expectancy
(Data are for the U.S.)

•Life expectancy: 77.9 years

(Don't tell my Mother. She's 90 and still going strong.)

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lifexpec.htm

I am glad your mom is still going strong. But she is the exception. The average life expectancy is AVERAGE. Many die younger than the average life expectancy. Americans really are not living that much longer than the last generation.

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

CDC Home

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Life Expectancy
(Data are for the U.S.)

•Life expectancy: 77.9 years

(Don't tell my Mother. She's 90 and still going strong.)

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lifexpec.htm

Life expectancy equals someone's ability to keep working a full-time job? Probably not so much.

What group is that life expectancy for? A person born this year? I think we're mainly talking about people who'll be retiring in the next 20 years or so, not people retiring in the next 60 years.

C'mon this is just common sense here. Most 8 year olds, for one reason or another, wouldn't be able to work a regular 40 hour a week job in our society today just as most 70 year olds wouldn't be able to work a regular 40 hour a week job in our society today. Are there some jobs they could do? Are there some 70 year olds who could? Perhaps, but in general, no.

It's nice that your mother is 90 and still doing so well. Congratulations to her and you. Is she working a 40 hour a week job in the construction industry? I'm gonna guess not.

But be that as it may, we're not talking about anecdotal stories of certain unique lucky individuals, we're talking about the population as a whole, who mostly are not going to be able, for one reason or another, to work into their 70s. Let's be realistic here.

BTW, life expectancy means when they die. I'll bet those last few years for most people are not very productive years as far as working a job are concerned. I'm guessing most people have health problems of some sort and may even be in nursing homes.

Originally Posted by redpony353

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

CDC Home

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Life Expectancy
(Data are for the U.S.)

•Life expectancy: 77.9 years

(Don't tell my Mother. She's 90 and still going strong.)

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lifexpec.htm

I am glad your mom is still going strong. But she is the exception. The average life expectancy is AVERAGE. Many die younger than the average life expectancy. Americans really are not living that much longer than the last generation.

I know about that.
My Dad died in his early 50s and my older brother died in his early 50s without ever collecting any Social Security.
So I retired at 61 and stated collecting my S.S. at 62 just to be sure I'd get something from it.

(Most of the people on my Moms side of the family lived to be over 100.)

My 84 year old neighbor still manages a 24 unit apartment building, waters the flowers and bushes and sweeps the commons areas everyday. She is a really nice lady but she runs the place with an iron hand. Anyone who causes problems for her or any of the other tenants gets booted out. Until a couple of years ago she also was the caretaker for her sick husband and still takes care of her bi-polar daughter.

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Originally Posted by redpony353

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

CDC Home

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Life Expectancy
(Data are for the U.S.)

•Life expectancy: 77.9 years

(Don't tell my Mother. She's 90 and still going strong.)

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lifexpec.htm

I am glad your mom is still going strong. But she is the exception. The average life expectancy is AVERAGE. Many die younger than the average life expectancy. Americans really are not living that much longer than the last generation.

I know about that.
My Dad died in his early 50s and my older brother died in his early 50s without ever collecting any Social Security.
So I retired at 61 and stated collecting my S.S. at 62 just to be sure I'd get something from it.

(Most of the people on my Moms side of the family lived to be over 100.)

I am sorry to hear that your Dad and brother died so young. Thats why it angers me that they keep saying that Americans will live so long and be retired and collecting benefits for 20 years or more. That is just not true. The average life expectancy is only a few years longer than it was in the last generation. If my memory serves me correctly the average was about 73. They forget to mention that quite a few Americans never make it to retirement age and collect nothing at all. I think the age for FULL BENEFITS should be lowered to 60. And the funds should only be used for retirement. Furthermore, if wages were raised it would immediately pump some funds into the SS system. Guess they havent thought of that one yet.

If they raise wages everyone will have to pay more for everything they buy.

that will weed out lots of illegal aliens. they just dont live that long.