hey CBO score this

I looked up SS tables the other day. I though people had to be 67 to draw. Nope they have paused at 66 years, right in the middle of the baby boomers. How dumb was that idea? well here is the table, the last two columns are something to do with spousal survivor benefits.

age for full SS early benefits start at 62, table is months younger than full, amount IF full was $1000 and % reduction from full benefits.
1937 or earlier 65 36 $800 20.00% $375 25.00%
1938 65 and 2 months 38 $791 20.83% $370 25.83%
1939 65 and 4 months 40 $783 21.67% $366 26.67%
1940 65 and 6 months 42 $775 22.50% $362 27.50%
1941 65 and 8 months 44 $766 23.33% $358 28.33%
1942 65 and 10 months 46 $758 24.17% $354 29.17%
1943-1954 66 48 $750 25.00% $350 30.00%
1955 66 and 2 months 50 $741 25.83% $345 30.83%
1956 66 and 4 months 52 $733 26.67% $341 31.67%
1957 66 and 6 months 54 $725 27.50% $337 32.50%
1958 66 and 8 months 56 $716 28.33% $333 33.33%
1959 66 and 10 months 58 $708 29.17% $329 34.17%
1960 and later 67 60 $700 30.00% $325 35.00%

*****NOW MY TABLE which might save the pgm until we can get away from this system***
1942 65 and 10 months 46 $758 24.17% $354 29.17%
1943-1947 66 and 0 mo 48 $750 25.00% $350 30.00%
1948 66 and 2 months 50 $741 25.83% $345 30.83%
1949 66 and 4 months 52 $733 26.67% $341 31.67
1950 66 and 6 months 54 $725 27.50% $337 32.50%
1951 66 and 8 months 56 $716 28.33% $333 33.33%
1952 66 and 10 months 58 $708 29.17% $329 34.17%
1953-54 67 & 0 months 60 60 $700 30.00% $325 35.00%
1955 67 and 1 months and 62 and 1 month for early retirement.
1956 67 and 2 months and 62 and 2 months for early retirement
1957 67 and 3 months and 62 and 3 months for early retirement
1958 67 and 4 months and 62 and 4 months for early retirement
1959 67 and 5 months and 62 and 5 months for early retirement
1960 67 and 6 months and 62 and 6 months for early retirement
.............
1961 67 7 months / 62 7 mon early ret. HI 67 8 months / 62 8 mon early
1962 67 8 months / 62 8 mon early ret. HI 67 10 months / 62 10 mon early
1963 67 9 months / 62 9 mon early ret. HI 68 0 months / 63 0 mon early
1964 67 10 months / 62 10 mon early ret. HI 68 2 months / 63 2 mon early
1965 67 11 months / 62 11 mon early ret. HI 68 4 months / 63 4 mon early
1966 68 0 months / 63 0 mon early ret. HI 68 6 months / 63 6 mon early
1967 68 1 months / 63 1 mon early ret. HI 68 8 months / 63 8 mon early
1968 68 2 months / 63 2 mon early ret. HI 68 10 months / 63 10 mon early
1969 68 3 months / 63 3 mon early ret. HI 69 0 months / 64 0 mon early
1970 68 4 months / 63 4 mon early ret. HI 69 2 months / 64 2 mon early
1971 68 5 months / 63 5 mon early ret. HI 69 4 months / 64 4 mon early
1972 68 6 months / 63 6 mon early ret. HI 69 6 months / 64 6 mon early
1973 68 7 months / 63 7 mon early ret. HI 69 8 months / 64 8 mon early
1973 68 8 months / 63 8 mon early ret. HI 69 10 months / 64 10 mon early
1974 68 9 months / 63 9 mon early ret. HI 70 0 months / 65 0 mon early
1975 68 10 months / 63 10 mon early ret. HI 70 2 months / 65 2 mon early
1975 68 11 months / 63 11 mon early ret. HI 70 4 months / 65 4 mon early
1975 69 0 months / 64 0 mon early ret. HI 70 6 months / 65 6 mon early
1976 69 0 months / 64 0 mon early ret. HI 70 8 months / 65 8 mon early
1977 69 0 months / 64 0 mon early ret. HI 70 10 months / 65 10 mon early
1978 69 0 months / 64 0 mon early ret. HI 71 0 months / 66 0 mon early
-------
1979 69 1 mon / 64 1 mon early ret. HI 71 1 mo / 66 1 mo early ret
1980 69 2 mon / 64 2 mon early ret. HI 71 2 mo / 66 2 mo early ret
1981 69 3 mon / 64 3 mon early ret. HI 71 3 mo / 66 3 mo early ret

HI in my table is "higher income" Implement a form of means testing that makes folks who don't 'need' SS be older to be eligible to start drawing it. Reading comments when SS has been brought up on discussion blogs leads me to believe that there would be a strong resistance to taking away SS bennies for folks who have paid in for 30-45 years just because they don't need the money. Under this system I expect I would wait 14 months longer to draw than the current table shows for "my" SS "entitlement". *I* would be perfectly open to adding some kind of reduction in benefits as well, so that if one is HI they get ie 90% instead of 100% of what they are 'eligible' for based on age and contributions. I don't know if that would be politically feasible. *I* think the current system will fail anyway and if the dems are allowed to choose how to salvage things they will make SS strictly another wealth transfer program and I will (I hope) be eligible for nothing because I have a retirement fund.

But again from reading blog comments its pretty clear to me that folks who are retired or near(5-10 yrs) to retirement age would revolt strongly at the ballot box against a politician or political party who proposed removing 'their' SS payouts just because they are not poor enough.

I believe one has to be 65 or older AND be drawing SS to get medicare now. So for folks waiting until age 66 to get full SS then they are not eligible for medicare until age 66. I suspect that it is even more important to raise this age -faster than folks being born in 1975 have to wait 2 months if they take earliest SS but thats a whole 'nother set of thought and its moot if the B/R/O regimes healthcare destruction act is not repealed or struck down by the courts. In fact reforming SS will also become moot in that case because the economic destruction that will Continue will land the country with such a huge debt bill that everything will have to collapse one way or another.