BlackRock’s Larry Fink sees Social Security crisis, says 65 retirement age ‘a bit crazy’

BlackRock Chair Larry Fink said capital markets can help solve a crisis brewing around the ability of Americans to afford retirement as lifespans elongate, and that the government can provide a basic safety net.

In his annual letter to shareholders of the investing company overseeing $10 trillion in assets, Fink called the decreasing ability to retire in a financially sound way one of the biggest economic challenges of the mid-21st century. He said access to investing can help solve this conundrum, while also pondering if the expectation for everyone to receive Social Security benefits at age 65 has become archaic.

“Today in America, the retirement message that the government and companies tell their workers is effectively: ‘You’re on your own,’” Fink wrote. “And before my generation fully disappears from positions of corporate and political leadership, we have an obligation to change that.”