Lower the retirement age? 30% of Gen Zers, millennials say 60 or younger

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley touched off a national discussion about the appropriate retirement age recently when she said, “65 is way too low” and should be raised to shore up Social Security and Medicaid.

“The way we deal with it is we don’t touch anyone’s retirement or anyone who’s been promised in, but we go to people like my kids in their 20s when they’re coming into the system and we say the rules have changed,” she said.

This puts her at odds with many younger Americans: 51% of millennials and Gen Zers want to lower the retirement age, a recent Resume Builder survey found, while 6 in 10 said the age should be 60 or younger; and 55% believe this change should take place for everyone, while the others favor a slower rollout of the changes over time that would affect younger generations.

However, 16% of Americans in this age group believe the full retirement age should be raised. Of this group, 51% said it should be raised to age 68 or 69; 30% to age 70 to 72 and 6% to age 73 or above, while 15% of respondents are unsure.

“There’s real merit to the idea of lowering the retirement age,” said Sudhir Khatwani, director of The Money Mongers. “For one, it could open up jobs for us younger folks in this crazy competitive market. Then there’s the whole old vs. young dynamic at work. We’ve all seen the eye rolls over tech or different work styles. Getting some fresh blood in might ease that tension. And let’s not forget about our seasoned pros — they’ve been at it for ages, and they’ve earned that early sunset. Feels like a win for everyone, if you ask me.”

Related: Why work past retirement age? 60% of older workers have less than $500K in savings

Despite more than half of respondents being in favor of lowering the retirement age, 41% said they believe it is somewhat (26%) or very (15%) unlikely that Social Security funds will be available for them by the time they are eligible. However, two-thirds say they still are somewhat (35%) or very much (32%) counting on Social Security to be available to them.

Three-quarters of millennials and Gen Zers somewhat (39%) or strongly (36%) agree that those who have a lot of wealth should not be able to receive Social Security payments, while 26% somewhat (17%) or strongly (9%) disagree.

Daniel Morris, founder of My Caring Plan, believes the answer may lie between the two extremes of raising or lowering the retirement age.

“Early retirement exits cannot magically solve the generational tension or gap in the workplace,” he said. “Instead, I strongly advocate for fostering environments that encourage intergenerational knowledge sharing. It’s about valuing the vitality of youth as much as the wisdom of age. The key is recognizing the value every generation brings and fostering a culture of mutual respect and learning.”