However, it is important to recognize why Social Security has an early age of eligibility. If workers could claim benefits once they have accumulated enough income credits, some low-income workers would be tempted to apply for benefits in the late `50s or even late `40s. However, their monthly benefits would be very low, as early pensions would be reduced below the full pension in proportion to the number of months between the age at which a worker claims benefits and the NRA. The low level of the monthly pension may not be a problem for a worker aged 50 or 60 and may supplement monthly pensions with modest wages. However, this can lead to serious difficulties if a worker reaches the age of 68 or 70 and finds that he or she is no longer able to work. The EEA prevents short-sighted workers from claiming pensions that are too low to support themselves during a long retirement. These results suggest that raising the normal retirement age is likely to have little impact on the age at which male workers retire. It is more difficult to predict the effects of raising the early retirement age because we do not have enough historical evidence to assess the impact of these types of changes. It is conceivable that the abolition of early retirement pensions will make early retirement impossible for low-wage workers who have no other sources of pension than social security.
In this case, raising the early age of eligibility could lead to an increase in labour force participation and employment rates of 5 percentage points or more at age 62. You are entitled to social security pension benefits at the age of 62. You can check your eligibility, income history, and estimated future benefits on the Social Security statement of your My Social Security account online. Early age of law. Nothing prevents Congress from raising the age of early eligibility at the same time and pace as the NRA. However, an increase in the EEA is fundamentally different from an increase in RNAs. If the EEA is increased beyond the age of 62, workers aged 62 will not be able to receive old-age pensions. Under the current law, they can receive reduced old-age pensions or try to receive disability insurance (IV) pensions. When the ability to receive old age pensions is eliminated, some 62-year-olds who would otherwise have received an old age pension will apply for benefits under Program IV. This will increase Social Security administrative costs, as determining eligibility for DI is much more expensive.
It can also impose serious hardship on workers whose intravenous applications are rejected. While some observers are pessimistic about employers` willingness to accommodate the unique needs of an older workforce, I am not. Employers have created millions of part-time jobs to meet the needs of students and mothers who are only available for short hours a week. People who work part-time pay a price for short hours in the form of low weekly income and lost benefits, but the vast majority readily accept this price. I assume that a similar adjustment will be made for the specific needs of older workers. Most older workers seeking employment to bridge the gap between the end of their careers and entitlement to a full social security pension will be able to find suitable employment. Many policymakers worry that while Americans` life expectancy has increased, their ability to work beyond age 60 has not improved and may even have declined. While this may be true for a minority of workers, the best evidence suggests that it is not true for the majority of the population aged 60 to 70. On average, Americans` health and work capacity improved in their 60s in line with their improved longevity. The decline in employment rates among Americans aged 60 to 70 has not been caused by reduced ability to work, but by the growth of Social Security and private pensions, rising wealth, greater availability of disability income, and changing tastes for retirement life. However, any increase in the early age of eligibility or any sharp reduction in benefits for workers aged 62 should include special provisions for workers in reduced health. Disability insurance benefits could be made available, under liberalised eligibility rules, to workers with stable careers in physically demanding occupations.
If this trend continues, raising the age of eligibility for Social Security benefits will place a particularly heavy burden on Americans with low levels of education and lower incomes, a population that has not fully participated in the overall improvement in life expectancy and health. As I mentioned earlier, I think we should make humane provision for workers in physically demanding and health-impaired jobs if we raise the early age of eligibility to over 62. These consequences of raising the early age of law have made Congress reluctant to manipulate it.
