The AP published an important story that raises what should be an obvious point but is, unfortunately, lost in the shuffle in the deficit debate: Raising the Social Security retirement age hurts the poorest workers, who might actually be more likely to apply for disability benefits if they can't retire at the current early-retirement age of 62. Since disability benefits are higher than retirement benefits, this is a really bad thing, not to mention the human cost that comes with a slew of older Americans actually unable to do any sort of work, and who might even need long-term care.
About one-fourth of workers age 60 and 61 — just under the early retirement age — reported a health condition that limited their ability to work. Among those older workers, blacks and Hispanics were much more likely to report fair or poor health than whites, according to the report.
Less healthy older workers had lower incomes, less accumulated wealth and were much less likely to have attended college.
All of this is from a Government Accountability Office report commissioned by the Senate Special Committee on Aging. It's chairman, Sen. Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, noted that the impact would be disproportionately felt among the poor and minorities who tend to be in more labor-intensive jobs that actually lead to health problems or are impossible to perform with certain health conditions that come with age. At some point, the real human cost, and economic costs, of trying to raise the retirement age has to enter the discussion.
-- Monica Potts
