Don't raise SS retirement age

In a Fact Sheet issued today, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) gives ten reasons not to raise the retirement age for Social Security. Among them:

• Raising the retirement age is a benefit cut, and benefits are already too low.
• It cuts benefits for all retirees, whether they retire at age 62, age 70, or any other age—and it is a cut for retired workers’ spouses, widows, and dependents, as well.
• Social Security’s problem is not that people are living longer.
• The biggest financial problem facing Social Security is rising income inequality, which cannot be addressed by raising the retirement age.
• The shortfall can be reduced without cutting benefits. Taxes should be raised on the highest earners, who pay a much lower share of their income in Social Security taxes.

Top Ten Reasons Not to Raise the Retirement Age (pdf, 2pp/76kB), Aug. 24, 2010