Retirement Age Would Jump To 70 Under New GOP Social Security Measure

By Anna Cameron

Republican Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and Mike Lee (R-Utah.) unveiled their substantive plan to reform Social Security Wednesday, a proposal that would raise the retirement age to 70 by 2032.

“Without question, Social Security is broken,” said Sen. Paul. “If we do nothing, entitlements and interest will crowd out all spending and will occupy the entire budget within a little more than a decade.”

The plan is structured to reduce publicly held debt by $6.2 trillion by 2085, eliminate the current discrepancy between benefits promised and benefits delivered, and create a “solvent and sustainable” system that is fully functioning without an increase in taxes.

However, according to the Senators’ proposition, such accomplishments will require sacrifice.

Based on this, the Graham, Paul, and Lee initiative proposes a gradual increase in the retirement age, which would reach 70 years in 2032. The plan also incorporates means testing into benefit distribution.

“If we’ll adjust the age to 70, and act today and not wait another five years, we can protect more Americans than if we wait,” said Graham. “If we do what Harry Reid suggested - ‘call me in twenty years’ - you’re going to have to put the retirement age far beyond 70, and you’re going to have to start means testing benefits for people who make less than $43, 000.”

According to the Social Security Trustees’ report, the program is expected to start permanently paying out more than it takes in by 2015. Experts also project complete trust fund exhaustion by 2037.

President Obama is expected to address the public on his plan for deficit reduction Wednesday afternoon. Sen. Graham called on the president directly, applauding him for re-engaging in talks over entitlement reform, and urging him to put such reform on the table.

“If the President today will put entitlement reform on the table, we intend to work with him … because Social Security is a meaningful program that’s going to fail if we do nothing,” Graham said.