My friend David Kotok offers us some really solid insight on Japan and its retirement issues. And then talks about the same trend in the US.

Does this situation portend a change in the American view of the elderly and pre-elderly, too? We cannot say, because the political fight would be fierce. In Japan, the society had to be forced to make this change out of absolute necessity. My best guess is that America is likewise incapable of being proactive, which means it will be a retirement funding crisis here that ultimately compels us to update and match benefits with life expectancies.

This will be one of the biggest political fights of our lives in 5-10 years.