Current retirees aren't taking out any more than retirees were 30 years ago in real dollars and in many cases less -------what you get is a function of years of service and salary and contributions from both employer and employee are a function of salary and should have (and often will have) been adjusted up over the years to keep plans viable over the life of the plan.  As you note, your contributions are rising but for most plans that didn't just start recently. (Retiree extended health benefits, when they are part of a defined benefit plan, which they often aren't and probably shouldn't be, may be a different matter. ) What has changed is that the actuarial models are inadequate in the light of the  low rates of return for, and scarcity of,  "safe"  AAA investments that pension plans, for obvious reasons, need, including the low interest rates of the last 7 years which amount to a massive transfer of wealth from savers to borrowers.