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What even is retirement age and what practical impact would changing it have on society? People can retire or keep working at whatever age they want as long as

What even is retirement age and what practical impact would changing it have on society? People can retire or keep working at whatever age they want as long as they can afford to

rwmj 2mo ago
Retirement age is usually tied to various benefits. In the UK it's the age at which you can collect the state pension (currently around £12K per year, if you worked for 30-35 years). Changing the retirement age therefore affects the state's finances, quite dramatically in fact: https://obr.uk/box/the-fiscal-impact-of-increases-in-the-state-pension-age/ https://obr.uk/box/the-fiscal-impact-of-increases-in-the-sta...
- swat535 2mo ago
  Denmark is already considering raising the retirement age to 70: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44088957 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44088957 This is the natural consequence of declining birth rates.. it's either that or immigration right now. Encouraging people to have more children requires drastic changes in society which is difficult to implement.
telesilla 2mo ago
In some countries you can reach retirement age, get a pension and keep working. So you profit more. It's complicated as maybe you've paid to your pension since 18yrs of age and you should get some money back, but many pensions aren't based on those actual savings but on tax payers actively funding that pension. Is double dipping ok then?
- unsnap_biceps 2mo ago
  That's not what double dipping means. In this case, I presume they're taxed on their continued employment and so they're still paying into the pension they're receiving benefits on? I don't see a problem if that's the case. They contributed to the pension with an agreed payment date and followed the process correctly. I can understand how you feel that it's unfair, but I really don't see a problem unless they stop paying into the pension or stop paying taxes on their continued employment.
  - telesilla 2mo ago
    The double-dipping unfairness is mostly perceived when there is high unemployment in youth, and we're allowing, via tax rules, for retirement aged persons to have decent returns on their work. They get a living-rate pension AND a job. Like others note, UBI is a fair solution. Let's have everyone, regardless of age, be able to have a baseline. Then allow extra income form those who enjoy, or value, additional work and income.
arjie 2mo ago
Ah this is not a universal term. I see. I will edit. I meant “age of eligibility for elder age benefits and pensions”. E.g. social security eligibility age, state pension age, etc.

What even is retirement age and what practical impact would changing it have on society? People can retire or keep working at whatever age they want as long as they can afford to

rwmj 2mo ago

Retirement age is usually tied to various benefits. In the UK it's the age at which you can collect the state pension (currently around £12K per year, if you worked for 30-35 years). Changing the retirement age therefore affects the state's finances, quite dramatically in fact: https://obr.uk/box/the-fiscal-impact-of-increases-in-the-state-pension-age/ https://obr.uk/box/the-fiscal-impact-of-increases-in-the-sta...

swat535 2mo ago
Denmark is already considering raising the retirement age to 70: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44088957 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44088957 This is the natural consequence of declining birth rates.. it's either that or immigration right now. Encouraging people to have more children requires drastic changes in society which is difficult to implement.

telesilla 2mo ago

In some countries you can reach retirement age, get a pension and keep working. So you profit more. It's complicated as maybe you've paid to your pension since 18yrs of age and you should get some money back, but many pensions aren't based on those actual savings but on tax payers actively funding that pension. Is double dipping ok then?

unsnap_biceps 2mo ago
That's not what double dipping means. In this case, I presume they're taxed on their continued employment and so they're still paying into the pension they're receiving benefits on? I don't see a problem if that's the case. They contributed to the pension with an agreed payment date and followed the process correctly. I can understand how you feel that it's unfair, but I really don't see a problem unless they stop paying into the pension or stop paying taxes on their continued employment.
- telesilla 2mo ago
  The double-dipping unfairness is mostly perceived when there is high unemployment in youth, and we're allowing, via tax rules, for retirement aged persons to have decent returns on their work. They get a living-rate pension AND a job. Like others note, UBI is a fair solution. Let's have everyone, regardless of age, be able to have a baseline. Then allow extra income form those who enjoy, or value, additional work and income.

arjie 2mo ago

Ah this is not a universal term. I see. I will edit. I meant “age of eligibility for elder age benefits and pensions”. E.g. social security eligibility age, state pension age, etc.