I was shocked comparing my wife's 401K to my

[A HERETIC I AM]

79. No beef whatsoever.

But I have been a member here for quite a long time and I can tell you that the level of understanding on how pensions actually accomplish their goals, as well as general knowledge of how things work in the investing world is deficient, to say the least.

This is not unique to DU members either, not by a long stretch.

Most people don't know the difference between a Mutual Fund and a Christmas fund quite frankly, as evidenced by several other posters in this thread and after reading your posts on this subject it is clear to me that you are not fully aware how your pension fund is invested, what it's return is or how much annual return your wife might/could/should expect from her 401(k) etc.

Pension funds are invested in the market just like 401(k)'s can be (I say "can be" because they are "self directed" which means the individual can place the money in a Money Market fund if he chooses and get very little return)

The idea that you are going to get back more than you contributed is a canard. So will your wife, for that matter. The managers of your pension fund didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday either, and they are relying on the fact that either you or several of your peers will drop dead long before they have to start sending you money your money didn't earn or money over and above your contributions and earnings.