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If you're worried about living too long you can buy an annuity. It makes no sense for employers or the government to make that choice for you.

majormajor 9y ago
Mandatory safety net/insurance policies make sense because what we know from experience is that if you don't have a mandated program, some people will blow it off. And as long as we don't have the political will to let them die on the street alone in poverty, it'll be very expensive to try pick up the pieces of the mess once they hit the safety net. Especially if that's something like hitting the ER needing tens of thousands of treatment to stabilize, before just getting kicked back out to the street. Or wasting people's time in the ER without medical need because the ER has heating and a bed and the cold winter street doesn't. Not everybody has family to fall back on in retirement, but we still don't want to let them simply die. So the money has to be given somewhere.
- maoistinquisitr 9y ago
  It sounds reasonable in theory to collectivize this stuff, but in practice the programs all run out of money. Politicians always over promise. This happens over and over again all over the world. I see no real alternative to freedom here. Let people make their own choices. Over the long term you can't really conjure up better investment returns and better retirements for people by decree. The wealth has to be there.
  - majormajor 9y ago
    Do you think the political will is there to let people die in the street? If not, the running out of money part happens either way.
- kavalg 9y ago
  I fully agree with your statement, but would also like to point to the darker side of the coin, where some people managing the mandatory pension fund will probably make some nice amount of money out of it.
- hueving 9y ago
  You've gone a bit off the rail here because most people in the US don't get pensions and we aren't forcing tons of people to die in the street. I think you are confusing pensions with social security. Social security already provides that bare minimum mandatory safety net.
  - pc86 9y ago
    Social Security is a pension (defined benefit after a certain point as opposed to defined contribution).
    - hueving 9y ago
      Ok, but nobody in the US calls it a pension so when you refer to a pension everyone is assuming the one you got from an employer.
    - paulddraper 9y ago
      Right, but a very small pension.

majormajor 9y ago

Mandatory safety net/insurance policies make sense because what we know from experience is that if you don't have a mandated program, some people will blow it off. And as long as we don't have the political will to let them die on the street alone in poverty, it'll be very expensive to try pick up the pieces of the mess once they hit the safety net. Especially if that's something like hitting the ER needing tens of thousands of treatment to stabilize, before just getting kicked back out to the street. Or wasting people's time in the ER without medical need because the ER has heating and a bed and the cold winter street doesn't. Not everybody has family to fall back on in retirement, but we still don't want to let them simply die. So the money has to be given somewhere.

maoistinquisitr 9y ago
It sounds reasonable in theory to collectivize this stuff, but in practice the programs all run out of money. Politicians always over promise. This happens over and over again all over the world. I see no real alternative to freedom here. Let people make their own choices. Over the long term you can't really conjure up better investment returns and better retirements for people by decree. The wealth has to be there.
- majormajor 9y ago
  Do you think the political will is there to let people die in the street? If not, the running out of money part happens either way.
kavalg 9y ago
I fully agree with your statement, but would also like to point to the darker side of the coin, where some people managing the mandatory pension fund will probably make some nice amount of money out of it.
hueving 9y ago
You've gone a bit off the rail here because most people in the US don't get pensions and we aren't forcing tons of people to die in the street. I think you are confusing pensions with social security. Social security already provides that bare minimum mandatory safety net.
- pc86 9y ago
  Social Security is a pension (defined benefit after a certain point as opposed to defined contribution).
  - hueving 9y ago
    Ok, but nobody in the US calls it a pension so when you refer to a pension everyone is assuming the one you got from an employer.
  - paulddraper 9y ago
    Right, but a very small pension.