Retirement Ages and the Fiscal Future
by Jeffrey Miron on May 28th, 2010
6 Comments
Strikes across France delayed flights, closed schools and frustrated commuters Thursday as hundreds of thousands of workers protested government plans to raise the retirement age past 60 — one of the lowest even in Europe.
To me, increasing the age of eligibility for government retirement and medical benefits is the single best way to restore fiscal balance. Yet even this step seems politically impossible. My guess is that most countries will resist sensible adjustments like this one until their fiscal situations implode.
Categories: My Blog
Colorado
I agree, it’s manditory. But isn’t there a legal problem? A violation of a contract?
LeRoy Mason
Agreed. I think the idea from a responsible libertarian stand point we should honor existing contracts and the new work force we would contract under different terms.
Jess Austin
No one gets to ignore counter-party risk, even if they’ve abdicated all negotiating power to short-sighted union bosses. Private entities that can’t pay their obligations go bankrupt, and then the workers have whatever they can get through that process (which result varies, in the USA seemingly by Presidential fiat). It would be interesting to see nations explicitly declare bankruptcy, but I don’t think the legal precedent really exists to make that an orderly or predictable process.
Jacquelyn
If you have a real job as in you are actually producing a product by the sweat of your brow, you are worn out by 61. If you have a pencil pusher, immasculine job: if you are an analyzer as opposed to a producer, working past the age of 60 is more than reasonable. These things should be taken into consideration.
Jacquelyn
I take that back. Alan Greenspan, the promoter of low interest rates and a WEAKENED dollar, may have been too old for his position.
Ed
Agreed. When Social Security was adopted in 1936, the life expectancy was the same as the age of retirement, 65. If we were to keep that program in the spirit of FDR, the retirement age today would be about 78. Good luck….
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