Polling shows, however, that Christie’s making a bad political bet with this plan. (The plan has almost no chance of becoming law, so this is mostly about politics). According to a January 2013 Reason-Rupe survey, Republicans are more likely than Democrats, independents and the general public to say that income should not be a determining factor in receiving Social Security benefits. Only 26 percent of Republicans believe that Social Security should go to only those below a certain income level. Seventy percent of Republicans are opposed to such a proposal.

Among all Americans, 56 percent are broadly against changes like the ones Christie is talking about, according to the Reason-Rupe poll.1 The numbers are mostly the same across income and age levels.

Christie’s plan to change the retirement age affects many more people. When it comes to retirement, time is money: The average retiree gets about $1,300 a month in Social Security, so a two-year delay in retirement translates into more than $30,000 in lost income. That may be why older Republicans are very much against it.