Becker Says Work Beyond 70

The main budgetary issue is expected growth in entitlements spending — one key reason the retirement age should be raised to near 70, says Gary Becker. There’ve been “steps in the right direction, but they do not go far enough and have been too slow. It is time to raise more rapidly the normal retirement age for persons in reasonably good health to age 70 before they become eligible for either social security or Medicare benefits.” “As the health and life expectancy of the elderly continues to improve in the future — as they surely will — retirement ages should be raised beyond age 70.”