Defined benefit plans have large drawbacks (risk to the firm, risk to retirees if the plan fails, etc.), but there is zero evidence they were born of a desire t

Defined benefit plans have large drawbacks (risk to the firm, risk to retirees if the plan fails, etc.), but there is zero evidence they were born of a desire to kick the can down the road. They simply came first (at the time, as far as I'm aware, nobody had even thought of a defined contribution plan, and there would have been no tax reason to have one instead of just paying workers).[0] Let's debate what works without pretending everyone who disagrees with us has terrible motives. Defined benefit plans provided huge benefits to many workers who have not managed the switch to defined contribution plans well.[1] That does not mean that pensions are sustainable, or even that they are a good idea, but their proponents are not just con-men. [0] https://www.thebalance.com/the-history-of-the-pension-plan-2894374 https://www.thebalance.com/the-history-of-the-pension-plan-2... [1] https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/20/l-it-the-401k-is-a-failure.html https://www.cnbc.com/2015/03/20/l-it-the-401k-is-a-failure.h...