One argument often heard in favor of increasing the retirement age is that it's been done before. The 1983 Social Security reforms raised the full retirement age to 67 from 65 in steps, and deferred the change well into the future. The first retirees affected by the increase were 45 in 1983 and therefore 20 years from retirement in 2003; their full retirement age was raised to 65 and two months from 65. But the differential impact between rich and poor may not have been as well understood in 1983 — certainly the growth of income and wealth inequality was not as much on policymakers' radar screens then as it is now.

Source: Los Angeles Times April 25, 2018 14:03 UTC