We don't really have a lot of data about IRAs and 401ks yet. To my knowledge we haven't even seen a whole generation pass through that system, but the initial data does suggest that those mechanisms are proving to be huge IQ tests. It's too easy to make a mistake that hobbles your retirement, from choosing when to enroll, to choosing how to adjust your allocations as you age, to choosing how to take your distributions. Enron didn't look like a jackalope farm IPO when lots of rank-and-file utility workers put their retirement eggs in that basket. It seems like the argument that "companies shouldn't be expected to be retirement experts" should apply to individuals as well.
The point is that social security is supposed to be the low-risk leg of the stool, and it's going to have lower yield because of that. If we can increase the yield without increasing risk, we certainly should. But turning the safety net into an IQ test doesn't seem very fair to me.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
winterfish
no subject
Date: 2008-09-12 10:30 pm (UTC)The point is that social security is supposed to be the low-risk leg of the stool, and it's going to have lower yield because of that. If we can increase the yield without increasing risk, we certainly should. But turning the safety net into an IQ test doesn't seem very fair to me.