Ben Shapiro has defended raising the US Retirement Age in the wake of Donald Trump suggesting he would cut Social Security and Medicare if he returns to The White House.
The Daily Wire host made the comments on his podcast, The Ben Shapiro Show, in which he took President Joe Biden to task over his stance on retirement entitlements.
He described the idea of retirement in itself as a “stupid idea” which needs to be reviewed due to changing life expectancies.
Former president Donald Trump received criticism earlier this week for suggesting he would slash funding for Social Security and Medicare to pay for tax cuts.
This led Joe Biden to declare that federal funds for retirement benefits would be protected if he is elected to a second term.
According to Shapiro, it is “insane” that the official Retirement Age for claiming full Social Security benefits has not been raised.
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The conservative commentator slammed the idea of retirement as "stupid"
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In a lengthy rant, the right-wing pundit described President Biden’s agenda for the US economy as “depraved”.
The conservative commentator said: “Joe Biden, if that were the case, Joe Biden should not be running for president. OK? Joe Biden is 81 years old.
“The retirement age in the United States, at which you start to receive Social Security and you are eligible for Medicare, is 65.
“Joe Biden has technically been eligible for Social Security and Medicare for 16 years, and he wants to continue in office until he is 86, which is 19 years past when he would be eligible for retirement.
“No one in the United States should be retiring at 65 years old. Frankly, I think retirement itself is a stupid idea unless you have some sort of health problem.”
Americans are able to begin accessing Social Security benefits, albeit from a reduced rate, at the age of 62.
However, the full Retirement Age rises gradually for those who were born from 1955 to 1960 until it reaches 67.
As such, any taxpayer who was born 1960 or later will get full retirement benefits, including Social Security, at age 67.
During his rant, Shapiro called into question whether retirement support should exist at all in its current iteration.
He added: “It’s totally insane that you believe that you should be able to work from the time that you are essentially 20 to the time that you are 65, which is a 45 year period, you pay in, and then you’ll receive Social Security benefits sufficient to support you and your family, you and your wife or whatever, for, like, another 20 years.
“That’s crazy talk. That is not fiscally sustainable. The notion that if you have to raise the retirement age to 67 or 68, that everyone is going to fall apart — my parents are that age.
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REUTERS“My parents are not retired, and they shouldn’t retire. It would be very bad for them to retire.”
Earlier this week, Trump said “there is a lot you can do” when it comes to cutting Social Security and Medicare.
However, a representative for the Republican presidential candidate walked back these remarks which could potentially be a red flag with older voters.
The spokesperson said: "President Trump delivered on his promise to protect Social Security and Medicare in his first term, and President Trump will continue to strongly protect Social Security and Medicare in his second term.”