Scott Burns has a pretty eye-popping article today on American longevity. White women without a college education are living five years less than they used to – yes less. And that in a world where longevity is increasing! College-educated whites live ten years longer than blacks without a high school diploma. So, all the talk about deferring the age at which one can draw Social Security does wonders for the college educated – who really don’t need it. But it devastates the poor who really need it and are unable to draw their full benefits until they are almost on their deathbeds.
Some of this is drawn from a paper by Alice Munnell entitled “Social Security’s Real Retirement Age is 70.” Burns is at scottburns.com