I've always thought there was one critical flaw in the every man for himself retirement model (where each person is responsible for saving for their own retirem

I've always thought there was one critical flaw in the every man for himself retirement model (where each person is responsible for saving for their own retirement, as we have in the US) vs a pooled plan like social security or a pension. In the every man for himself, everyone has to plan for the worst case (we live to be 90+). In reality, many of us will die well before that, some before we even retire at all. A pooled plan like a traditional pension can plan actuarially for the average, so the total amount per person by which the plan needs to be funded is far less than what each individual has to save when he is on his own. The current US model makes us all save much more than we (on average) need.