With U.S. citizens living longer and testing healthier than ever, the official retirement age should be raised to 75 years old from the current 65 to avoid bankrupting the Social Security system.

Undeniably, our seniors are far outlasting their contributions to the various entitlement programs. What’s more, a government report released Aug. 19 found that average U.S. life expectancy has risen to a new high of 78 years.

To be sure, we should be pleased about these findings, which show the lifespan boost is due mainly to falling death rates in almost all the leading causes of death. As a result, the average life expectancy for those born in 2007 is nearly three months longer than for those born in 2006.

The data is from a preliminary report based on about 90 percent of the death certificates collected in 2007 by the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Anecdotally and as studies show, many seniors are healthier and more mentally acute today than in 1940, when Social Security began and the average U.S. lifespan was 62.9. At that time, the retirement age was set at 65 and has not been changed since.

The thinking in the New Deal-era was that Social Security eligibility should be set just above the average life expectancy to keep the system solvent and to be as fair as possible.

An increase in the retirement age would reflect today’s longer life expectancies — especially with the economy in the tank.