Most people plan to retire as early as they can while being financially secure. Yet in Australia, the government recently proposed raising the nation's retirement age from its current level of 65 all the way to age 70 within the next 20 years or so. Will the U.S. make the same move?
In the following video, Dan Caplinger, The Motley Fool's director of investment planning, looks at Australia's proposal. Dan notes that Australia currently has a retirement age of 65, and it's pegged to rise to 67 by 2023. But a further proposal would take the age all the way to 70 by 2035, with Australia's treasurer arguing that keeping the program solvent without boosting taxes on young workers is an essential benefit of the proposal. Yet opponents argue that keeping people working longer means fewer jobs for younger workers, making the move counterproductive. Dan notes that we've already seen some retirement-age moves in the U.S., with retirement ages set to rise from 66 to 67 over the next decade. Dan concludes that further increases are possible, although there are other measures that could help the Social Security system shore up its finances as well.
