Retirement Age Projected to Go Up

The full retirement age in the United States is currently 65 years of age. Limited Social Security benefits can be collected from age 62, but fears are that this can’t last much longer.

In fact, by 2009, Social Security updates mailed out to recipients already warned that, without changes to the law, by 2041 payroll taxes collected would only allow for 78 percent of benefits to be paid out.

Tell us your thoughts on the approaching Social Security crisis in the comments below.

With the current financial crisis, the need to address entitlements — and Social Security benefits — has been a big part of the conversation, albeit an issue many don’t want to tackle. Raising the retirement age has been one of the suggestions as a way to help deal with the problem, but it is one that carries with it political implications. That being said, the CEO of AIG sent shock waves around the world recently when he said the debt crisis is an indication to governments worldwide that the retirement age will have to move as high as 80 years old.

It was reported in Bloomberg that AIG CEO Robert Benmosche said, “That would make pensions, medical services more affordable.” He added it would keep people working longer and take some of the burden off the youth.

Is a retirement age of 80 too old? What do you consider a reasonable retirement age?