Posted on 06/29/2010 8:23:18 AM PDT by Sub-Driver
Top Republican: Raise Social Security's retirement age to 70 By Michael O'Brien - 06/29/10 10:50 AM ET
A Republican-held Congress might look to raise the retirement age to 70, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) suggested Monday.
Boehner, the top Republican lawmaker in the House, said that raising the retirement age by five year, indexing benefits to the rate of inflation and means-testing benefits would make the massive entitlement program more solvent.
"We're all living a lot longer than anyone ever expected," Boehner said in a meeting with the editors of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "And I think that raising the retirement age -- going out 20 years, so you're not affecting anyone close to retirement -- and eventually getting the retirement age to 70 is a step that needs to be taken."
The GOP leader said that Social Security was the most important entitlement to reform, though he also pledged that Republicans would bring legislation to the floor to repeal and replace the healthcare reforms passed earlier this year if the GOP wins back control of the House this fall.
But Boehner also floated several other reforms to Social Security, paired with raising the retirement age, to make it more solvent. Boehner said that benefits should be tied to increases in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) instead of wage inflation, and he suggested reducing or eliminating benefits to Americans with a "substantial non-Social Security income" while retired.
"We just need to be honest with people," he said. "I'm not suggesting it's going to be easy, but I think if we did those three things, you'd pretty well solve the problem."
Republican have made cutting spending and reforming entitlement programs a key part of their 2010 campaign message.
Watch the entirety of Boehner's explanation below:
Didn’t bother to read did you?
Bet you Boehner collects upwards of $100,000 per year in lottery style government retirement benefits...
“Forget fixing it. END IT!!!”
I hear this a lot. Maybe those that like to think about going down this road should not sign up for it when they retire.
It's time for the "Tea Party" to become an official political party and dump the GOP...
Yeah. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were jobs for men until they reach 70. Real nice. Wouldn’t it be real nice if men could choose to retire at 70 after many years of work. Real nice.
This liberal elitist has no idea of what it is to be in the world of work.
My husband is on disability through no fault of his own. Everyone acts like it is so easy to get disability. Believe me, it isn’t. Sure, there are some who probably shouldn’t receive it, but I believe most are truly disabled.
it amazes me that a politco....most of them never having worked an honest days work ever, want others who do to work til they drop dead..
working til 70 will mean you pay in for many more years and the chances of ever getting anything you paid in back are severely diminished...of course, thats' the whole charade...
So we just keep raising the age until all the those who paid in all their lives are dead before they ever see a dime back from their investment? How is that any better than watching the whole system collapse? Or is the baby boom generation just being asked to take one for the team and give up what they’ve paid for all their lives to bail out the generations before and after them? Unfortunately I think this is the case and, even worse, there is no other solution. So, I’m now supposed to trust the same people who robbed me of a significant portion of my life’s earnings with all of my medical care and decisions? That is sheer insanity.
Ping list for the discussion of the politics and social (and sometimes nostalgic) aspects that directly effects Generation Reagan / Generation-X (Those born from 1965-1981) including all the spending previous generations are doing that Gen-X and Y will end up paying for.
Freep mail me to be added or dropped. See my home page for details and previous articles.
I don’t disagree with your point. That being said i can see a few problems that an elected rep might not see in light of the fact that mr Byrd was gainfuly employed until 92.
Will companies be willing to keep a 69 or 70 yr old on their payroll?
With no job creation what happens to high school and college grads with even fewer jobs available as older workers stay even longer in the work force?
Should pushing back the age one qualifies for SS suddenly turn the projections around will the govt decide they can spend any savings from that as they have looted the program all these years?
Finally,the biggie. Govt employees get pensions,in many cases big fat ones. They don’t rely on SS to put food in their mouths or keep a roof over their heads. Will that be adressed? Will they be forced to live like the rest of (the non unionized) society?
I personally would have no problem working longer just to make that clear.
of course we could just INDEX all the huge pensioners out there....that would be acceptable me, not having nor my husband fat govt pensions to rely on.....
“How about 80? Or 90? The point is to make sure as few collect SS as possible, isn’t it?”
The point of ss was to remove a percentage of those in the work force at another time of high unemployment but provide them a small amount to aid the families taking care of them. Perhaps our society needs to return to that scope of funding for retirement.
Just raise it to 95 and be done with it.
This guy clearly doesn’t want to be the Speaker.
My dad and I’ve been saying this for years. However, it should be increased at a gradual rate so people can plan. Say increase retirement age 1 year every 3 to 5 years.
Yeah, me and all of the rest of Americans who have had tens of thousands of dollars stolen from them over the years. Especially those of us who are self imployed and pay both parts, employee contribution and employer contribution.
We could have invested that money into something real.
Rot in Hell, Boehner!
Boehner just handed the Democrats victory in November.
“Boehner failed to mention privitization, which is the real solution.”
That idea is dead for at least two generations.
Pay into it all your life and get nothing back. What a deal.
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