Seniors face ‘potential shift’ in benefits as Retirement Age increase likely

The retirement age could be changed further (Image: GETTY)

Recently, former Vice President Mike Pence has floated the idea of raising the age threshold for those over 25 years from retirement.

This has been echoed by Nikki Haley, who is preparing to run in the Republican Presidential primary, with a proposal to raise the Retirement Age for people in their 20s.

These suggestions have come over fears that Social Security in its current form will fall into insolvency in the near future.

However, recent polling suggests that such a change would be overwhelmingly unpopular with the American public.

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Social Security benefits could be impacted (Image: GETTY)

Polling from Data For Progres found that 65 percent of likely voters are against increasing the Retirement Age for people in their 20s, whereas 27 percent support it.

Doug Dahmer, the CEO and founder of Retirement Navigator, shared why a decent retirement has become a necessity in recent years.

He explained: “Retirement, or the practice of leaving one’s job or ceasing to work after reaching a certain age, has only been around since the 18th century.

“Retirement as a Government policy began to be adopted by countries during the late 19th century and the 20th century to solve the socio-economic issues of the time.

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“It created an incentivized system that encouraged elderly, less productive people to leave the workplace, in order to create job vacancies for the younger generation, who were disrupting society due to their inability to earn an adequate income to survive.”

However, the pensions expert noted that changes to the Retirement Age may be essential for certain countries and those approaching retirement should expect a “potential shift” in their benefit entitlement.

Mr Dahmer added: “As a man-made concept, retirement has and will continue to evolve to meet the challenges of both current and future generations.

“Although the socio-economic challenges we face today are far removed from the original design of retirement, it will once again be the reality of economic and social issues that force our politicians to redefine retirement.

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Americans are saving for a stress-free retirement (Image: GETTY)

“Increasing the age of retirement is just the front end of much more significant changes over the next decade, including a potential shift in old age benefits, as that demographic grows.”

Once someone reaches the Full Retirement Age (FRA) of 67, they are entitled to the full amount of Social Security benefits if they have earned at least 40 credits.

Americans can access their Social Security entitlement if they choose to retire early from the age of 62.

However, if they decide to do this, they will receive a reduced rate when it comes to the amount they claim from benefits.

Those 65 or over are eligible for Medicare Benefits if they have paid Medicare taxes for at least 10 years.

Many Americans choose to postpone their retirement until 70 in order to boost the amount they will eventually get.

The last time changes were made to the FRA was as part of the Social Security Amendments of 1983.

This hiked the retirement threshold to 67 and increased the amount offered by the delayed retirement credit for workers who decide to retire later.