No. People that have 211k in a 401k generally do not have debt or a mortgage. The people with credit cards and mortgages are these people http://www.darwinsfinance.com/retirement-survey-savings/ The article says that 43% have less than $10k in savings. THOSE are the people with credit card and mortgage debt. Anyone who is cautious enough to save $200k+ knows that its smarter to pay off a $25k credit card at 29% than earn 3-4% per year on the same money. There are two types of people in this world. Savers & spenders. Spenders dont save and savers dont spend.
You can't. There are only three ways to retire today: 1. Be the CEO and get a real pension. 2. Be a government employee and get a real pension at 75% of your maximum salary, and inflation adjusted. 3. Be very, very good at trading. There is a reason companies moved their employees from defined benefit pensions to 401k plans. The benefits are less, so the costs are less.
Where's your evidence for these claims? Presumably you are aware that when you make controversial claims, you are supposed to actually back them up with facts, not just argue by assertion.
I am not so sure this is guaranteed. If society can't afford it, then either taxes will have to rise significantly, or the pensions will have to be cut significantly. The nice thing about private capital is that it is pretty much guaranteed, so long as you can manage your investments competently, whereas a public pension can be slashed overnight at the stroke of a pen, subject to the whims of politics.
This thread reminded me something I had read a while back from book "Zurich Axioms" : All you can know about the future is that it will get here when it gets here. You cannot see its shape, but at least you can prepare yourself to react to its opportunities and hazards. There is no sense in just standing there and letting it roll over you. Speculative Strategy The Twelfth and final Axiom warns about the futility and the dangers of planning for a future one cannot see. Do not get rooted in long-range plans or long-term investments. Instead, react to events as they unfold in the present. Put your money into ventures as they present themselves and withdraw it from hazards as they loom up. Value the freedom of movement that will allow you to do this. Don't ever sign that freedom away. The Twelfth Axiom says there is only one long-range financial plan you need, and that is the intention to get rich. The how is not knowable or plannable. All you need to know is that you will do it somehow. Best, Max
401ks are supplementary. Period. Only idiot brokers and their "Houses" believe 401ks are going to get you through retirement. You need a lot more than a 401k and most people are 100% vested in a 401k. Hence...they are fucked.