[quote=HLS]The biggest threat to this country (and possibly the world) that virtually nobody is talking about would be the collapse of the 401K system that people have been fooled into believing is a ‘safe’ vehicle for a secure retirement.
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I’ve seen this referred to a few times and I don’t really follow. The “401K system” is a small, but not insignificant piece of the larger financial markets. And similarly, a small but more significant piece (about 20%) of the retirement plan market. If the financial markets collapse (as they did 6 or 7 years ago), retirement plans will fall similarly (though I think it’s roughly 40% of 401Ks are in fixed income instruments with substantially less risk).
I’ve never had a 401k, but I have been involved in a dozen or so presentations to 401k participants. Every single one of them included warnings of risk associated with the various investment options.
Is the expectation that the “401K system” has unique risks associated with it that are different from risks associated with other retirement plans or other financial investments?
