The notion that a nation can save for retirement is a fundamental misunderstanding of money. Money is pieces of paper that determines how a nations resources a

The notion that a nation can save for retirement is a fundamental misunderstanding of money. Money is pieces of paper that determines how a nations resources are divided. Having more money in a "Social Security fund" is useless. If the social security fund is massive when it comes time to withdraw money from it but there are no resources to divide, then inflation will ensure the fund is worthless. If the fund is tiny but there are lots of resources to divide, the money will go a long way. Individuals can save money to ensure they get a larger share of the resources in the future. But overall money is a zero sum game -- if one person has a greater share, everybody else has a lesser share. As a country, to support retirees you invest in the productive capacity of the country -- train nurses, build infrastructure & housing, et cetera.