Thread by @bopinion

When companies ditched pensions for 401(k) plans, they put the burden of saving for retirement on their employees.

Now workers are facing poverty. But employers can do something about it, if they choose. It costs just $2.64 an hour... bloom.bg/2UtQFFF

Baby boomers are leaving the workforce in big numbers, and retirement security in America is extremely shaky.

An alarming 29% of households aged 55 and older have no retirement savings and no pension bloom.bg/2UpDKEK

By 2030, more than 21 million retirees will have to rely on Social Security, which amounts to roughly $17,500/year.

💰 That's barely above the federal poverty level of $12,490 bloom.bg/2UpDKEK

Roughly three-quarters of households aged 55 to 64 had $150,000 or less in retirement savings in 2013. That isn’t nearly enough bloom.bg/2UpDKEK

Workers once had brighter retirement prospects. What's changed?

1979: 84% of workers enrolled in a pension
2014: 28%

Companies save a fortune by abandoning pensions, but there's little indication that those savings are being passed on to workers bloom.bg/2UpDKEK

It wouldn’t cost employers much to give workers retirement security. By @nirkaissar's calculation:

Living: $38.6K/yr
SS benefit: $17.5K
Shortfall: $21.1K

Employers can provide the savings their workers need if they set aside $5,500 a year on their behalf bloom.bg/2UpDKEK

401(k) plans are flawed. More needs to be done to make them cheaper and simpler.

But retirement plans are worthless if they can’t be funded. After all, workers can’t save what they don’t make bloom.bg/2UpDKEK