No pension.

I actually would expect something like this to happen soon.

Bring back DB, eliminate DC, company saves a ton of cash for a few years.

The old guys would rejoice, pension and all those years of DC “youre welcome kids!”

Then, once the costs got too high, sorry. We have to cut it to save the company again. Guess you guys are SOL.

Here’s the thing…..where do you think pension boards invest pension money?

IN THE MARKET

The diff though is that if an individual hasn’t diversified accordingly, a 22% market decline affects only themselves.

If every employee is in a pension and the market drops 22%, it puts the entire pension plan under duress which affects everyone.

A well diversified, properly allocated 401K plan is light years better than a pension due to the lack of systemic problems in a market down turn.

It’s as simple as putting your 401K in a target date fund and checking back in 30 years.

Heck, with a 30 year timeframe you can just leave it in an index 500 fund. Thirty years will tame a $hitload of stock market volatility. Besides, you aren’t going to take any out of a 401k until you are 72 and 1/2 and then only the required minimum distribution (~4% per year to start) because it’s more tax advantaged than your other investments.

Not if it is done properly.

Kind of, but it's a bit more nuanced than that. You're on the right track though.

There have been decades where international and small cap / value outperforms the S&P 500. So you really need a proper mix of everything if you want the most return for the lowest risk. Just being in the S&P 500 can be risky too in the fact that you wouldn't have made as much as you would if you were globally diversified among all asset classes. You won't lose money over the long term in the S&P 500, but it isn't always the best performer in and of itself.

Also, the closer your time horizon draws, the more you should be putting into bonds instead of stocks so that you are less subject to volatility when you are going to need to start drawing off of the portfolio.

I’m actually shocked that a civil, thoughtful discussion about bringing back the pension has ensued on this thread.

The 2nd Amendment is what stops the Feds from doing that.

yes I’m sure your fantasy of an armed uprising will happen when the tax laws change

And here we go again…….

(Not directed specifically at you OOfff, just the argument in general).

What do the stats say? Most people have less than 45k in their 401k if anything at all?

Don’t see those folks lighting the torches.

You were saying....