Nevin's Data "Points"

  Once upon a time, we talked about retirement as having three legs   [i] : Social Security, workplace savings/pensions, and personal savings. But to a number of vocal pundits, the full burden has been put …on the 401(k). But before there was a 401(k)—and even before the advent of ERISA—there was Social Security, a program designed to provide retirement income to working Americans. It remains absolutely integral to even the most rudimentary retirement planning calculation, and with good reason.  That said, despite a looming financing shortfall—and a fairly widespread notion that those benefits aren't "enough" for a full retirement income replacement, you don't see headlines in the New York Times—or folks going on book tours—proclaiming that program was a "mistake" the way some do about the 401(k).  The reality is that Social Security­—like the 401(k)—has undergone significant changes in scope, funding, and mission since its 1935 inception. People are often c...

I recently met some friends for lunch – but the only seats available were those high-back stools you basically have to climb up to in order to sit. But that wasn’t the worst of it. As it turned out, my seat…wobbled. Which is to say that it basically rocked even as I sat there. Now, I’m all about rocking chairs in the proper setting, but when you’re trying to eat a meal (or enjoy a cold beverage), it’s annoying – particularly if you are one of those lean on the table types – and especially when your seat is high off the ground.    And as I was sitting there desperately attempting to maintain my balance (it didn’t help that my companions found my predicament humorous), it called to my mind that retirement security has long been said to be based on the concept of a three-legged stool. While the reference is somewhat dated, Social Security benefits were said to be one leg of a three-legged stool consisting of Social Security, private pensions and personal saving...