Back in ‘the day’, Americans worked for one company most, if not all, of their adult lives. And their loyalty was rewarded with a guaranteed income for life; a pension when they retired.
Then, the unthinkable began to happen: the guarantee disappeared as companies ran into financial trouble or saw pension plan investments dry-up in the stock market.
University of Wisconsin-Extension financial specialist Michael Gutter says, “People who’ve been eligible for these (pensions) may have not saved in other accounts, such as IRA’s, because they counted on the fact that they had a known income source going into retirement. So, for some individuals, there’s not much planning that can be done if they’re already facing this crisis.”