I’m starting to think my late Grandpa, who group up during the great depression, was right, the only place to keep your “Retirement savings” safe from crooked bankers and the government is to hide it under your mattress. (and he did to the tune of $60,000 when he passed away).
The modern 401K was the brain child of Ted Beena, who exploited an I intended consequence of 1978 law that congress passed whose intention was to limit the amount of money wealthy executives could squirrel away in retirement accounts. But here is the problem - we have many more people retiring than joining the workforce in the next few years, and many of those retiring have no savings. Plus, those who do have retirement accounts are dependent on the markets not crashing, which I think they will. Stocks are currently 53% overpriced based on ten year averages and the Fed has poisoned the markets with imaginary money. This fantasy world cannot go on forever. A crisis can ensue very quickly, and Obama is getting ready to exploit it. I can see it happening right now. The plan is to force everyone to shift funds into bonds and the Government has instantly acquired Trillions.
When our aunt passed away in January last year, we found $160,000 in $20 bills neatly tucked into ziplock bags under some afghans in her bureau drawer. She had over a million in investments as well. Something to be said for that generation.