Today, Aaron Carroll joins Ryan Grim and Jonathan Chait in highlighting a subtlety in the calculation of the effect of increased longevity on social security costs. Ever-increasing longevity has been used to justify raising the retirement age in the Bowles-Simpson deficit reduction plan (to 69 by 2075 for full retirement). The catch is this: life expectancy for those who reach age 65 has risen far more modestly than life expectancy from birth:
Subtleties of life expectancy, cont.
Subtleties of life expectancy, cont.
Subtleties of life expectancy, cont.
Today, Aaron Carroll joins Ryan Grim and Jonathan Chait in highlighting a subtlety in the calculation of the effect of increased longevity on social security costs. Ever-increasing longevity has been used to justify raising the retirement age in the Bowles-Simpson deficit reduction plan (to 69 by 2075 for full retirement). The catch is this: life expectancy for those who reach age 65 has risen far more modestly than life expectancy from birth: