We (the US) got retirement sort of right, then wronged it up, and keep trying to mess it up more

As you probably guessed, I don’t like her idea of the annuity, unless it comes with the same cost structure I get from the Social Security Administration by waiting from age 62 to 70. Any inflation-adjusted annuity you buy from a commercial insurer will cost about 50% more.

I think a better idea would that tontine-like product I posted about 2 months ago, except I’d invest the money in an S&P 500 index fund instead of US Treasury securities and ditch the 1% fee. I’d keep the same mechanics of the “pool” (i.e., you can withdraw your money prior to age 80, minus what you’ve gotten in monthly benefits, than the pot gets annuitied for 20 years and everyone still gets a monthly check, at age 100 they split what’s left among the surviving members of the cohort. (You need that age 100 thing so that it technically isn’t a tontine (i.e., last man standing gets the whole pot) which is illegal in the US.

I liked the fact that she talked about how most of the gerontological research shows that people really enjoy being retired. The exact opposite of what the Calvinists have been telling us for 40 years – maybe longer.

intercst

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