Brief Would Raising the Social Security Retirement Age Harm Low-Income Groups?
Gordon B. Mermin, C. Eugene Steuerle
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Social Security's projected financial shortfall has spurred discussions about increasing the age at which workers can first receive retirement benefits. This brief examines the future distributional impacts of raising the retirement age by about three years. Raising the retirement age hits lower-income workers less hard than other groups because the disability program provides some protection. However, it still increases poverty rates. Combining the retirement age change with an enhanced minimum benefit increases lifetime benefits for the lowest earners and substantially cuts the Social Security deficit without significantly increasing poverty rates.

Research and Evidence Health Policy Tax and Income Supports Race and Equity
Expertise Social Safety Net Health Care Coverage, Access, and Affordability Aging and Retirement
Tags Social Security Economic well-being Poverty Disability and long-term care Racial and ethnic disparities Pensions Retirement policy Racial barriers to accessing the safety net Racial inequities in health Disability equity policy