How quickly the tide turns. Just a few short months ago, the mass media hype targeted the 401(k) arena. Things were going so bad in the PR department for the popular retirement plan, some even accused the 401(k) of being nothing more than a supersized Ponzi scheme. As unbelievable as it sounds, voices declared the 401(k) "Dead on Arrival" and began demanding the return of the pension plan.
But then the Wisconsin winter struck, breaking a dam of pent-up frustration and taxpayer angst. First the Cheese State, then Indiana, then Ohio and now Massachusetts, still a bastion of Democrats, all these states (and many others) shed the bloom of the Emperor's new clothes when it comes to public employee unions. In the end, the 401(k) was alive and well – and working! It was the long ignored pension that appears to have been assigned to the dustbin of history.
This brings us to Washington's infamous third rail – Social Security. As early as the 1980s, when a bipartisan panel swept the dirt under the rug and "saved" FDR's safety net, many already knew Social Security was the real Ponzi scheme. All it would take was the retirement of the baby boomers for the thing to meet its ultimate fate. Back then, we had a chance to save the retirements of the mid-to-late baby boomers by having them opt out of Social Security and into a defined contribution plan. But the third rail loomed large, threatening to sizzle anyone who ventured too close.
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Christopher Carosa
Chris Carosa has been writing a weekly article and monthly column for BenefitsPRO online and BenefitsPRO Magazine since 2011 and is a nationally recognized award-winning writer, researcher and speaker. He’s written seven books, including From Cradle to Retire: The Child IRA; Hey! What’s My Number? – How to Increase the Odds You Will Retire in Comfort; A Pizza The Action: Everything I Ever Learned About Business I Learned By Working in a Pizza Stand at the Erie County Fair; and the widely acclaimed 401(k) Fiduciary Solutions. Carosa is also Chief Contributing Editor of the authoritative trade journal FiduciaryNews.com and publisher of the Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, a weekly community newspaper he founded in 1989. Currently serving as President of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and with more than 1,000 articles published in various publications, he appears regularly in the national media. A “parallel” entrepreneur, he actively runs a handful of businesses, including a small boutique investment adviser, providing hands-on experience for his writing. A trained astrophysicist, he also holds an MBA and has been designated a Certified Trust and Financial Advisor. Share your thoughts and story ideas with him through Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/christophercarosa/)and Twitter (https://twitter.com/ChrisCarosa).
