Employees, through their unions, /demanded/ and obtained defined-benefit pension plans from large employers in the 60s and 70s. One problem, in the United Stat

Employees, through their unions, /demanded/ and obtained defined-benefit pension plans from large employers in the 60s and 70s. One problem, in the United States, is that Ronald Reagan passed a law that allowed companies to fall behind on their pension liabilities--i.e. shortchange their employees' pension plans. Add 20 years, and suddenly GM, among others, had a bankruptcy-inducing pension shortfall in 2008. Banks being CIDC-backed just protects the first $100K of one's holdings, so far from the full retirement savings...