This literally could mean the difference between living independently or not for a lot of people.
Not to mention everybody working today with a 401k as their retirement plan will lose value no matter their age, which means they have to work longer than planned. This is a real life impact to a lot of people.
Given that quality of assistive care matters, it could literally mean the difference between living and not for people.
Of course, on the other hand, so could runaway inflation for lots of people into the same age group (not every elderly person is self-sufficient on retirement income; many are supported by younger, working family members.)
Retirees who are fortunate enough to have substantial retirement assets should take precautions against risk. If they haven’t then that’s their problem. I’m retiring in 30 years, my retirement accounts are all stocks. If I was 65 I’d have my 401(k) heavily in bonds and fixed income.
Anything else is just greed.