Mace says raising retirement age should be ‘on the table’

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) said on Sunday that she believes that raising the retirement age for people who receive Social Security benefits should be “on the table.” 

During an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” host Kaitlan Collins noted that fellow South Carolinian Nikki Haley, a Republican presidential candidate, supports the idea. 

“I think that’s something that has to be on the table we have to look at,” Mace told Collins, adding that “we have got to look at our spending in this country, mandatory and discretionary.” 

“I’m 45 years old. I’m assuming that Social Security will be insolvent, that I won’t have retirement funds from what I put into in my adult life, my working life,” Mace said. ”If we’re going to take on fixing Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, you name it, we have got to get serious about it.”

Mace also stressed that any change should not affect “anybody that’s heading into retirement right now.” 

“We do not want to take away those that are in retirement or those that are heading into retirement,” Mace said.

“But if we’re talking about younger generations, my kids, for example, if they know what the — what the retirement will look like 40 years from now, 50 years from now, then that should be on the table, and can be,” Mace added.

“Republicans and Democrats have screwed this thing up, and they have got to fix it.”

Mace’s remarks come as Democrats and Republicans begin a battle on the country’s safety-net programs, such as Social Security and Medicare.