Champions of the 401(k) Lament the Revolution They Started
People talk of pension like they&#x27;re a sacred right of workers yet nobody will address the fact that they&#x27;re entirely unsustainable. Any system that tells a worker they can work for 25 years somewhere then receive 25+ years of pensions at their inflation adjusted final salary is a crock. The money has to come from somewhere (and don&#x27;t give me a bullshit about compounding ... we&#x27;re talking way more than that).<p>The non-employer (<i>or even worse municipal - yuck!</i>) pension can be created synthetically through a combination of annuities and life insurance. The problem with that approach is that since the other side is a private company that cares about the pay outs (and not just promising obligations to be paid by someone else), it ends up costing way more. Guaranteeing a perpetual $X&#x2F;month (inflation adjusted) pay out twenty-five years from now is way more expensive than people realize or would be willing to pay for.<p>The real answer is: Accept that fact that most people cannot retire at the same lifestyle the enjoyed while working <i>or</i> adjust the latter well in advance so that instead of saving 5-10% you&#x27;re saving 50+% of your money.