GOP debate clarified a key divide in 2024 race: Raising Social Security's retirement age

One exchange in the third Republican primary debate clarified an issue that appears likely to be on the agenda during the next president’s term: the solvency of Social Security.

Almost two-thirds of the way through Wednesday’s two-hour NBC News debate, all five candidates on stage were pressed — and largely pinned down — on the question of whether they would raise the retirement age for Social Security recipients to help ensure the future solvency of the program.

A recent government report found that Social Security's main trust fund has the funds to continue paying out 100% of benefits only through 2034, with most experts strongly urging Washington to put in a plan to extend the safety net program's solvency as soon as possible.

Read more: How to find out your 2024 Social Security COLA increase

Both former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie have put forth plans and were again unequivocal Wednesday night in saying that yes, they would push to raise the age for younger people.

While both declined to say the exact age they would advocate for, they made clear that Americans currently in their 20s and 30s would likely need to tweak their retirement plans if either of them won the White House.

"Any candidate that tells you they are not going to take on entitlements is not being serious," said Haley in her answer, adding that "for my kids in their 20s, you go and you say you are going to change the rules."

Both Christie and Haley also reiterated their support for means testing the Social Security program, in order to cut off benefits for the richest Americans and save money on that front as well.

"I don’t know if Warren Buffett is collecting Social Security, but if he is, shame on you," Christie said, turning to the camera and adding: "You shouldn’t be taking the money."

Moderator Kristen Welker of NBC News was also effective as she moved down the line in pinning down candidates on the other side of the issue. Both Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Senator Tim Scott said under questioning that raising the retirement age wouldn't be a priority for them in the White House.

Scott argued that raising the age would be unfair to Americans engaged in certain jobs — especially farmers — who physically aren’t able to work for longer. Likewise, DeSantis was clear he would be opposed to the idea of raising the age.

"When life expectancy is declining, I don’t see how you could raise it the other direction," said DeSantis, who nonetheless kept the door open to pegging the retirement age to life expectancy.

Read more: Retirement planning: A step-by-step guide

In terms of how they would keep the program solvent without raising the age, both Scott and DeSantis were vague on that trickier question and argued that the economic expansion they would unleash as president would cover the shortfalls — a case that few experts would agree with.

The fifth candidate on stage — entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy — noted that the next presidential term could be "the last window we have" to keep the program solvent but likewise argued that his other initiatives like lowering the national debt, cutting the government workforce, and unleashing economic growth could take care of the problem.

The recent trustees report found that once Social Security lacks the ability to pay out full benefits in the coming decade, checks could be decreased for all beneficiaries by over 20%, including current retirees. Meanwhile, the report also found that a key Medicare trust fund could run low on funds by the final year of the next presidential term, in 2028.

The two candidates not on stage: Trump and Biden

Both current President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump have avoided taking clear positions on the issue, often being more focused instead on using the issue as a political weapon to attack their opponents.

That was a pattern repeated Wednesday night, even with neither candidate on stage.

Within minutes of the exchange, the Trump campaign had released a statement criticizing DeSantis on the issue, claiming he had been overly open to reforms of Social Security throughout his career. The Trump release called DeSantis a "disciple of Paul Ryan" and took note of DeSantis's votes in Congress in favor of plans that were looking at the issue of raising the retirement age.

The release also reiterated Trump’s position in opposition to any cuts to Medicare or Social Security without laying out how the former President would keep the program solvent.

Likewise, the Biden campaign rushed out its own statement within minutes of the exchange in Miami to try to turn the issue on Trump.

Biden 2024 spokesperson Seth Schuster noted that Trump had looked at Social Security cuts while he was in office as part of his annual budget proposals, adding a claim that "if Trump returns to office, the benefits millions of America’s seniors rely on — and spent their careers contributing to — will once again be on the chopping block."

In his comments on the issue, Biden himself has tended to focus more on increasing taxes to cover the coming shortfall for the program while also criticizing Republicans for discussing reforms that can be characterized as benefit cuts — like raising the retirement age. He had a memorable moment in his State of the Union address when he baited Republicans to promise to take entitlement programs off the table in budget talks and "stand up for seniors."

Nonetheless both Haley and Christie — who are the two candidates still in the race eager to talk about Social Security with the departure of former Vice President Mike Pence from the contest — maintain that the program's fate needs to be open to discussion now and can be alleviated with a series of relatively painless moves.

"I have a son who's in the audience tonight who's 30 years old," said Christie at one point. "If he can’t adjust to a few-year increase in the Social Security retirement age over the next 40 years, I’ve got bigger problems with him."

Ben Werschkul is Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.

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