Raising the Social Security eligibility age would have the effect of reducing our fiscal problems. At the time SS was instituted, the retirement age was around the age the average American expected to be dead and buried. If we raised the SS eligibility age to 72 to 77, I don’t think we would have a multi-trillion dollar problem on our hands any more. Seniors who did not save up on their own would work until they dropped (or when they became eligible for SS) - seniors who did would retire before they became eligible for SS, pretty much as it was when SS was first put into place.
Average life span is a bad number to use because it improperly counts the affect infant and childhood mortality have. A child dying has no affect on the financial status of retirement plans. It's sad for the parents, but since the kid never put anything into SS he doesn't affect the accounting.
A better number would be life expectancy of someone who has hit 18 and is entering the work force. I expect that number is significantly higher than the 63-65 ages we often see for life expectancy when SS was started.
Hey, I'm already ticked off that they promised me full benefits at 65 many years ago, but recently changed it to 66. Want a geezer revolution? That's one way to start one!
Nothing will reduce the fiscal problems of a Ponzi scheme.
Ask a construction worker about retiring at 72 - physical demands of the job usually dictate an earlier retirement.
And an engineer whether his company will keep him employed at age 70 - most get laid off by age 45-50 now in favor of younger or foreign workers.
Etc.
Why not raise the eligibility age to 90? That would solve our fiscal problem for a long time. SS is quite a system now. You can contribute to the system for 50 years and not collect a dime except a small burial allowance.