In 1981 over 80% of American workers were covered by a defined benefit plan (pension plan) sponsored by their employer. This meant they had guaranteed income in retirement. Today that number has fallen into the low teens and is dropping fast as employers deftly shift the burden for retirement income to the employee and off the company balance sheet. Employers simply found this benefit to be prohibitively expensive and now offer a defined contribution plan (401(k), SEP, Profit Sharing, DB) instead. This relieves them of the liability of paying income to their employees in retirement and sim
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