The retirement system in the US today requires that Americans make lots of choices. Individuals must decide for themselves how much they will save, how they will invest those savings, how they will tap into them once they stop working – and even whether they will save for retirement at all or just rely on social security.
This laisser faire approach has worked well for some but leaves many others unprepared for retirement. Half of all US workers, many of them lower-income, don’t even have access to a retirement plan at work.