> None of my employers have offered pensions, just a 401k.
A 401k is a pension isn't it? Just a defined-contribution pension instead of a defined-benefit pension.
I get a pension at my large young tech company.
A 401k is a pension isn't it? Just a defined-contribution pension instead of a defined-benefit pension.
I get a pension at my large young tech company.
My wording is probably off on some of that so an article like this one is probably helpful to flesh out the details:
https://www.fool.com/retirement/2018/06/13/whats-the-differe...
That's specifically a defined benefit pension - just one type of pension. There are many other types of pension. My pension is basically just a big saving account my employer and I both pay into - it's a defined contribution pension.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defined_contribution_plan#Unit...
It shifts the burden from employers to employees. As a positive, it means employees are more free to change employers while retaining their retirement / "pension" accounts.
On the other hand, as you suggest, defined benefit was one traditional source of income in retirement that didn't require any action/saving discipline on the employee's part. But that's mostly gone in the private sector now.
The problem here is pensions that require future payout over an indeterminate length of time.
Yes that's the way my pension works. It's still a 'pension'!
That's technically correct (for example, you'll see 401(k) accounts referred to as "pension" accounts on their wikipedia page) but people are so used to referring only to defined-benefit accounts as pensions in the United states that they will look at you funny if you call your 401(k) or IRA a "pension." As is virtually happening here.