evidence: Lowering the retirement age won’t save US seniors While presidential hopeful Nikki Haley proposes a rise in Americans’ retirement age, retirement differences around the world point to one thing: the age doesn't matter. [...] With many countries seeing the average age of the population on the rise, questions about how to invest in the financial, medical, and community support that older adults will need to thrive in retirement, are a hot button issue in politics. Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley recently raised eyebrows on the debate stage when she promised to raise the retirement age in the United States.