I think the real problem is not the loss of pensions: 401k savings can easily replace pensions if savers make good decisions. The problem is, most people don't

I think the real problem is not the loss of pensions: 401k savings can easily replace pensions if savers make good decisions. The problem is, most people don't make good investment decisions. A single poor decision, such as panic selling during the 2008 recession, can irreversibly ruin peoples' retirement unless they are young and have time to catch back up. Imagine how much worse the impact of the 2008 recession would have been if we had privatized social security and allowed savers to invest the money like they did in their 401ks. On the other hand, I know someone who retired from United Airlines after decades of work as a mechanic, and lost all of his pension because of the financial and legal problems the company and the pension fund were going through. He had to go back to work at a retail store in his late 60s in order to pay the bills. I bet he would have rather had a 401k and some control over his own investments.