Retirees Watch Wall Street With Trepidation
Here's an excerpt from a piece I wrote, "Bushites To Current and Future Retirees: You're On Your Own" (1/16/2008), "And Economic Policy Institute reports, "Congress has encouraged employers to replace traditional pension plans with individual account plans, shifting both the risk of investment loss and the cost of saving for retirement from the employer to the individual worker. A real pension guarantees a steady stream of income to retired workers—it does not shift risk onto individuals who may not be able to adequately manage it."
"Which is exactly what Bush, his corporate cronies, Republican lackeys on Capitol Hill and other Republican toadies wanted: to push the 401k plans for employees. Why?
"According to EPI, "A 401(k) plan or IRA guarantees nothing. They are, however, cheaper for employers, and they generate tremendous fees and profits for Wall Street and financial firms. They also particularly benefit the well-off. So it's easy to see how they have achieved a measure of political success. But 401(k)s do precious little for the average worker. After 20 years of experience we can say with confidence that 401(k) plans have not built broadly shared retirement security, but instead eroded it. The nation is richer than it was 20 years ago, yet Americans nearing retirement are less prepared than they were a generation ago, and the future looks even dimmer.
"A Boston College Center for Retirement Research report via AFL-CIO blog
showed that 401(k)s and IRAs underperformed traditional pension plans and returned less on investments than pension investments."
Due to the economic crisis downturns in the market, those close to retirement who have 401K's are worried.
According to the LA Times, " 'Given the public's growing dependence on 401(k) accounts, a deep or prolonged downturn in the markets could have a broad societal effect', said Jack VanDerhei, a retirement specialist at Temple University. In addition to people returning to the workforce or postponing retirement, many more Americans would have to scale back their lifestyles than in the past, he said.
"A ripple effect could hit the workplace, as younger employees wait longer for anticipated promotions because their older counterparts hung around longer.
" 'Without a doubt -- comparing where we are today with 401(k) plans as the primary form of retirement savings for many baby boomers -- the impact of a down equity market has a much bigger impact on society than when traditional pensions were the primary form of retirement income,' VanDerhei said."
So goes yet another consequence of Bush's everything for corporate and Wall Street cronies, regular working Americans "you're on your own" years.
"Which is exactly what Bush, his corporate cronies, Republican lackeys on Capitol Hill and other Republican toadies wanted: to push the 401k plans for employees. Why?
"According to EPI, "A 401(k) plan or IRA guarantees nothing. They are, however, cheaper for employers, and they generate tremendous fees and profits for Wall Street and financial firms. They also particularly benefit the well-off. So it's easy to see how they have achieved a measure of political success. But 401(k)s do precious little for the average worker. After 20 years of experience we can say with confidence that 401(k) plans have not built broadly shared retirement security, but instead eroded it. The nation is richer than it was 20 years ago, yet Americans nearing retirement are less prepared than they were a generation ago, and the future looks even dimmer.
"A Boston College Center for Retirement Research report via AFL-CIO blog
showed that 401(k)s and IRAs underperformed traditional pension plans and returned less on investments than pension investments."
Due to the economic crisis downturns in the market, those close to retirement who have 401K's are worried.
According to the LA Times, " 'Given the public's growing dependence on 401(k) accounts, a deep or prolonged downturn in the markets could have a broad societal effect', said Jack VanDerhei, a retirement specialist at Temple University. In addition to people returning to the workforce or postponing retirement, many more Americans would have to scale back their lifestyles than in the past, he said.
"A ripple effect could hit the workplace, as younger employees wait longer for anticipated promotions because their older counterparts hung around longer.
" 'Without a doubt -- comparing where we are today with 401(k) plans as the primary form of retirement savings for many baby boomers -- the impact of a down equity market has a much bigger impact on society than when traditional pensions were the primary form of retirement income,' VanDerhei said."
So goes yet another consequence of Bush's everything for corporate and Wall Street cronies, regular working Americans "you're on your own" years.
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