THE NEW RULES OF RETIREMENT SAVING • 27
were in charge of making sure there were enough assets to cover a retiree’s pension check. Today, you have to be that expert. And most of us don’t have the financial background, training or time to make those deci- sions; 401(k)s — and investing in general — can be very compli- cated. It doesn’t help that your employer probably doesn’t offer any advice because they’re concerned with the legal ramifications of a human resources department offering employees financial ad- vice. In short, American businesses have bought in to a savings structure that has transferred much of the risk in saving for retire- ment from institutions to you as the individual. It’s no wonder so many savers are looking for something better. Advice From Time Magazine So what should you take away from all this? Time magazine put it best in an article by Dan Kadlec: “It’s time to recognize that your retirement security is in your hands alone.” Today’s generations must depend on themselves to save for the future. In the article, entitled, “Why Your 401(k) Match Will Get Cut,” Kadlec made the following observation about the future of retire- ment in America: “We have a retirement savings crisis in America and the safety net keeps being eaten away. Social Security is a mess. Public and private pension plans are underfunded. We’ve moved squarely away from secure defined- benefits plans towards riskier defined-contribution plans, and now de- fined-contribution plans are under assault.” 5
⁵ Dan Kadlec. Time. Dec. 13, 2012. “Why Your 401(k) Match Will Get Cut.” http: // business.time.com / 2012 / 12 / 13 / why-your-401k-match-will-get-cut / .
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