Mar 22, 2024
The subjects of Social Security and its ultimate fate never quite leave public and political consciousness. Even in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election, President Joe Biden has promised to “protect and strengthen” Social Security, while former President Donald Trump in a recent CNBC interview said there was “a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting” due to waste.
Regardless of how the political promises play out, one thing is certain: The Social Security Act was signed into law in 1935, when life expectancies were far shorter than today. And that in part has led one money manager to opine that raising the retirement age “is inevitable.”
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"I don’t think there’s any question that the age will end up having to rise,” David L. Bahnsen, managing partner of the California-based Bahnsen Group, told GB News, a U.K. media outlet.
Social Security after nearly a century
Nearly 90 years' worth of numbers indeed tell the story. In 1940, if you made it to 65, you could expect to live another 12.7 years (for men) and 14.7 years (for women), Social Security figures show. But if you turn 65 in 2024, those figures are now 19.2 and 21.8 years, respectively.
Over time, the population aged 65 and over has grown nearly five times faster than the total population from 1920 to 2020 — and now makes up 1-in-6 Americans, according to the 2020 U.S. Census.
Yet if some sort of restructuring of Social Security seems sure to happen, Bahnsen believes it’s not feasible without some sort of advance warning to Americans.
“What I’m vehemently opposed to is springing it on people,” he said. "If right now people are expecting it to be 65, I don’t think we should tell 61-year-olds that we’re going to move it higher for them.”
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Ways to stretch your retirement savings
Regardless of Social Security’s eventual fate, there are ways you can stretch your retirement savings now. Those include:
Downsizing your home. Especially for empty nesters, the option of selling a larger home (especially if it’s paid off) and moving into a smaller one can build on that nest egg. Between 1970 and 2000, the median price of a home (adjusted to 2024 dollars) jumped from $117,700 to about $215,000, according to Census Bureau figures; by 2022, the median value of an owner-occupied home had soared to just shy of $300,000 in 2024 dollars.
Continuing to invest. No matter what happens to Social Security, no one will be able to stop you from investing in the stock market. Dating to before Social Security became law, annual stock market returns have been 9.81% for the S&P 500 dating to 1928, according to the nonprofit Official Data Foundation. Just make sure to consult a financial adviser and avoid impulsive investments such as hyped IPOs, or disproven strategies such as market timing.
Staying on the job. Assuming you’ll be fit and sharp enough to hold down at least a part-time job, working past the retirement threshold of 62 or even today’s full retirement age of 67, can have many financial advantages. The money you make can be funneled into housing, food, utilities and health care — expenses all bound to rise with time — without impacting your retirement savings. This can also open the door to more discretionary spending (yes, the fun stuff), which isn’t always an option for those on a fixed income.
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Lou Carlozo is a freelance contributor to Moneywise.
