> Living solely off Social Security means there wasn’t a plan. <
Hard to say. A guy I know was a pretty darn good machinist. And he had a decent amount of money socked away for retirement.
Then his factory was shut down and production was moved to China. He was around 50 at the time, and could not find comparable work. His retirement money was spent helping to keep his family afloat until his kids could finish their schooling, and get jobs of their own.
Now he depends on Social Security. I can’t say he was a foolish planner. Better to say that the country sold him out to China.
My parents made us pay for our own college.