I'm not sympathetic in either regard. I've read that folks in western countries generally (including Japan) who reach 50 have an average life expectancy to 85+. Full retirement at 65 means 20+ years of retirement, as against typically around 40 - 43 years of working.
In a stable population, that works out to around .46 retirees per working-age person.
That makes it onerous for the folks still working to support those who are retired.
In the US, the age for full Social Security benefits for folks born in 1960 and later is 67. That changes the ratio modestly to around 18+ years of retirment against around 45 years of work. That reduces the ratio modestly to around .4 retirees per working-age person.
Frankly, I'd raise it to 70, giving around 15+ years of retirement against around 48 of work. That gets it down to around .31 or .32 retirees per working-age person, which is much less onerous on those who are still working.
sitetest
And who is going to hire all these old people? We have I don’t know how many recent college grads without jobs. There aren’t enough jobs for everyone. Maybe we should learn mandarin and move to China to find a job.