Nomadland Exposes the Middle-Class Rip-Off

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

7. The myth of pensions.

I really get tired of the assumption that everyone, or at least most people, had good pensions back in the day. In reality, fewer than half of workers were ever covered by a pension. And even those that might have had one, often did not work long enough to actually collect. And many companies and unions systematically underfunded those pensions and so promises made have not been promises kept. At least a 401k is your money and you get to keep it and take it with you when you leave a job.

Yeah, a 401k isn't perfect, but as someone whose pension is less than a third of what it should be, I'm all too aware that the golden age of pensions never really existed.

Oh, and Social Security was never intended to be 100% of a person's retirement income. It was seen as one leg of a three legged stool, the other two legs being a pension and savings.