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More than 1 million people recently took to the streets in France to protest an increase in the country’s standard retirement age.
In the U.S., a similar battle may be quietly brewing in Washington.
The full retirement age for Social Security, when workers are eligible for 100% of the benefits they’ve earned, is transitioning to age 67. Eligibility for health care coverage under Medicare currently starts at age 65.
Yet as both programs face funding shortfalls, one Republican proposal has suggested pushing those ages higher.
The Republican Study Committee budget, put forward by House leaders, has called for Social Security’s full retirement age to gradually go up until it is increased by three years. Based on their proposal, people born in 1978 or later would have a full retirement age of 70.
The proposed changes would not apply to current Social Security beneficiaries or people ages 55 and over, according to the plan that was proposed last year.
The Republicans also propose raising Medicare’s eligibility age to coincide with the Social Security full retirement age and then indexing that age to life expectancy.
At the State of the Union address this week, President Joe Biden called on Democrats and Republicans to stand to show Americans they will not cut Social Security or Medicare.
Despite the moment of unanimity, experts say Republicans’ proposal represents cuts.
“Social Security is a very simple problem: It’s money coming in and money going out in benefits,” said Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.
“There’s two ways to fix it: You can have less money go out or more money come in,” Munnell said.
Importantly, there is no third way, Munnell said, as some have suggested of raising the retirement age.
“Increasing the retirement age is a benefit cut,” Munnell said.
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