Final answer:
The increasing of Social Security's full retirement age to 67 aligns with greater life expectancies and demographic shifts such as the baby boom generation reaching retirement, aiming to ensure program sustainability and support for older Americans.
Step-by-step explanation:
The full retirement age set by Social Security at 67 for individuals born in 1960 or after is a strategic adjustment to address demographic and economic shifts. This adjustment is not typically surprising when considering the intention behind the Social Security program—to provide a social safety net for aging individuals—and the increasing life expectancy since the program's inception in 1935, when the original retirement age was 65 and life expectancy was lower.
Longevity advancements and changing workforce demographics have necessitated the revision of eligibility ages to ensure program sustainability. When the program began, fewer people lived long enough to draw benefits, but now a significant portion of the population reaches retirement age. As the baby boom generation retires and the ratio of workers to beneficiaries declines, the increased retirement age is one response among proposed solutions to ensure the continuance of Social Security benefits.
Legislative changes, such as the ones reported in the 1980s, are typically phased in slowly, showing the cautious approach policymakers take when adjusting such an integral system. The Social Security Act has evolved over decades and continues to adapt, with changes communicated to the public to manage expectations and ensure long-term support for older Americans.