Raise the Retirement Age

Or, to be more precise, raise the age at which one can begin collecting social security benefits. It's not just a way to save Social Security, it's a way to help millions of Americans avoid spiritual and mental health problems, according to Marvin Olasky.

Ask yourself about the happiness of the people between 65 and 70 that you know: Are those who are working, perhaps on a part-time basis, perhaps in a different career, less happy than those who wonder how to fill up their days? And if you believe in God, ask whether it's right for a healthy person to stop using the occupational talents God has bestowed on him.

Fair enough and I can certainly agree that it's better to keep busy.

But let's ask a counter question. You say you'd like to raise the age at which one can begin collecting social security in order to force senior citizens to keep busy. So why don't you trust them to make wise choices on their own? I mean what if they don't want to work full time? What if they want to focus on more educational or leisurely pursuits? What if they want to get more involved in their churches or in charitable work? And, more to the point, what if it is the supplemental income from social security that allows them to do this?