General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Question: how would you feel if they raised the minimum age of Social Security or Medicare? [View all]nashville_brook
(20,958 posts)Retirees are living about the same amount of time as they were in the 1930s. The reason average life expectancy is higher is mostly because many fewer people die as children than did 70 years ago.
What's more, what gains there have been are distributed very unevenly--since 1972, life expectancy increased by 6.5 years for workers in the top half of the income brackets, but by less than 2 years for those in the bottom half. But those intent on cutting Social Security love this argument because raising the retirement age is the same as an across-the-board benefit cut.
http://www.cepr.net/index.php/publications/reports/social-security-and-the-age-of-retirement/
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/07/more_on_raising_the_retirement.html