Page 28 - Psychology of Money - Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness-Harriman House Limited (2020)
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Take retirement. At the end of 2018 there was $27 trillion in U.S. retirement
accounts, making it the main driver of the common investor’s saving and
COBACOBA
investing decisions.⁵
But the entire concept of being entitled to retirement is, at most, two
generations old.
Before World War II most Americans worked until they died. That was the
expectation and the reality. The labor force participation rate of men age 65
and over was above 50% until the 1940s:
Social Security aimed to change this. But its initial benefits were nothing
close to a proper pension. When Ida May Fuller cashed the first Social
Security check in 1940, it was for $22.54, or $416 adjusted for inflation. It
