Raising retirement age to 69 is stupid and cruel

[Bragi]

Seriously, I'm 60 years old and I have the good fortune to be semi-retired now. I could retire completely, but choose not to because I enjoy working half-throttle in my professional area. (I write and do public policy consulting work.)

However, there is no way whatsoever that I can imagine working in my profession until I'm 69. I'm in good health, but I just don't have the energy levels needed to perform at anything close to a full-time level' let along"compete" with people 20 and 30 years younger.

I'm also (and here's a dark secret) not as good at what I do as I used to be. Sure, I can offer some wisdom and a lot of experience, but when it comes to doing gritty research and analytical thinking, and writing it all up, I'm nowhere near as proficient as I used to be.

How do I know that? I know because we recently downsized and I had to sift through and discard boxes and boxes of work material. What shocked me when I read my earlier work was how much sharper and more thorough I was 10-15 years ago than I am now.

I'm Canadian, but lots of people here think, like many Americans, that because older people are now in better health, (I'm glad for that) that people can therefore work clear through at full speed until they are 69, after which they will qualify for social security.

My personal experience says otherwise. What those who propose moving eligibility for SS to 69 are really saying is quite simple: we are reducing your retirement benefits, and you can now expect no support until you are 70.

Between the ages of 65 and 70, you can finance your own retirement all by yourself out of savings you probably don't have, or you can drag your sorry ass into a workplace somewhere, take up a job that a young person needs, and try your best to keep up with people with way more energy than you, and way more interest in what they're doing than you.

Seriously, Americans should not accept this attack on their SS retirement benefits. I think this is an issue worth rioting in the streets over.

To young people I say this: if you don't turn back this attack on your pensions, you will seriously regret it when you get older, should you indeed, be lucky enough to get older.

[KillCapitalism]

1. K&R, I agree.

I think the French were right to riot over their retirement age being raised from 60 to 62.

I'm not anywhere near 60, but I see how tired and worn down people get at that age, even if you take good care of themselves.