The Institute for SocioEconomic Studies is a private operating foundation
that examines issues relating to economic development, poverty, health care reform and the quality of life
At the Core of Social Security
Published in the Washington Post December 24, 1999
The assumption in the Social Security advisory
report – that longevity will carry with it a high price for maintaining a solvent Social Security system— could be erroneous [news story, Dec. 7].
People who live longer are generally in better health longer, work longer and often live full lives. And just in time. Labor markets are envisioned to
become tight in the early decades of the next century. An increase in older workers will enable the economy to avert a labor shortage. Retiring at 75 or 80
and paying Social Security taxes until then could lessen the burden upon the system and ensure adequate, if not higher, benefits later.
