Part of this is the shift from defined benefit to defined contribution plans for retirement.
In 1984 – a large percentage of workers/retiree’s had defined benefit retirement plans – Pensions. So they got dribs and drabs of their retirement income guaranteed through retirement.
Now the system is to save in 401ks, TSPs, 503b’s, etc… which is owned by the retiree.
170k seems really low to me. Not enough to retire on.
The $120k of 1984 – subsidized by monthly pension payments, is a lot wealthier than the $170k of now, with no pensions.
I saw this story this morning and was surprised no one mentioned this change in how our retirement is funded. It seems really obvious to me.
