There's an old saying in newspaper journalism: "Don't tell me; show me. Mr. Biggs tells us a lot, but he doesn't show us much.
I could rant on about a number of points in this superficial opinion piece (I wouldn't call it reporting) but the one item that stuck out like a sore thumb for me was this: "Again from 1996 to 2016, the number of Social Security retirement beneficiaries rose by 32%; over that same period, the number of individuals receiving taxable pension/annuity payments rose by 46% ... " I'd really like to see something to back that up ... a fever chart, maybe. At the very least. Show me.
I'm not surprised that more people are drawing on retirement income. since we're at the point where nearly half the baby boom is near or beyond full retirement age. However, I'd sure like to know more about that surge in pensioners. Are they retired public service employees? Military careerists? Corporate executives with golden parachutes? Or does Biggs lump personal annuities in with pensions from an external provider? I can't tell from this article.
Are the pensioners getting $100 a month or $5000 a month? We don't know, and we don't know where to find out from this article, since Mr. Biggs is sketchy about his sources.