The U.K.'s Liberal Democrat pensions minister is mounting a campaign to boost the retirement age by six months every year going forward, according to a report in The Telegraph newspaper.
That would mean a Briton in their early 20s today wouldn't draw their pension until they were 70.
The U.K., like the U.S., is facing its own aging boomer-retirement crisis.
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The number of Brits age 65 and older is expected to increase by 51 percent over the next 20 years. The number of those aged 85 and over will double by 2030, according to the Department for Work and Pensions (their equivalent of our Social Security Administration).
Whether these proposals will find the political backing to become policy remains to be seen.
In the States, retirement experts view restoring health to Social Security as key to addressing our crisis.
Way back in 1983, amendments were made to Social Security that affected kids who were just coming out of college. A 23-year old then is now a 54 year-old, and won't be collecting Social Security until they're 67.
A Democrat introduced the bill in April of that year; President Reagan signed it into law about six weeks later.
Today, U.S. politicians struggle to find consensus on Social Security reform.
As midterm elections are upon us, one vital race proves just how politically dicey raising the age eligibility for Social Security is. Iowa is currently watching a Senate race that could shift balance of power in that chamber. Retiring Democrat Tom Harkin's seat, which he's held since 1985, is one of 10 Senate races that realclearpolitics.com is calling as a "toss up."
Republican candidate Joni Ernst has accused her opponent, Democrat Bruce Braley, of wanting to increase the retirement age.
Typically, calls to raise the retirement age come from Republicans.
It's that type of dissonance that makes any talk of raising retirement ages, or taxes, a game of political Russian roulette on the campaign trail.
John Laitner, an economist at the University of Michigan, called the issue of Social Security reform a "trap" for politicians.
"There's no way of doing it without something unpalatable," he told the Des Moines Register. "Whether you say we're going to increase the tax or we're going to trim the benefits or some of each, somebody's going to get something they don't want."
The Brits are likely to feel the same way.
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Nick Thornton
Nick Thornton is a financial writer covering retirement and health care issues for BenefitsPRO and ALM Media. He greatly enjoys learning from the vast minds in the legal, academic, advisory and money management communities when covering the retirement space. He's also written on international marketing trends, financial institution risk management, defense and energy issues, the restaurant industry in New York City, surfing, cigars, rum, travel, and fishing. When not writing, he's pushing into some land or water.
