> the description you’ve given above, which is a really nice summary, would be so utterly bonkers advanced-sounding and deeply complicated to average workers B

> the description you’ve given above, which is a really nice summary, would be so utterly bonkers advanced-sounding and deeply complicated to average workers But this description was very technical, another way to approach it is: keep in mind that there is no 100% safe way to save money, if you are looking to set money aside for retirement you may just put it a "retirement fund" based on the year you plan to retire (or a bit earlier to be conservative). For example the "Vanguard Target Retirement 2010 Fund" lost 21% in 2008: https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual-funds/profile/performance/vtenx/cumulative-returns https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual-funds/profile/performan... (but gained 19% in 2009 and 11% in 2010). Edit: I agree that access to the information is a big problem for the common people. This is a valid general concern outside of just planning retirement though.