In the US and UK, retirement is only for the super-rich

Since the neoliberal reforms of the Reagan era; the rollback of trade unions; the elimination of defined-benefits pensions (in favor of "market-based" SIPPs and 401(k)s); the termination of national minimum wage increases and real earnings collapse for working people; the finance-industry fraud that stole so many working peoples' homes during and after the subprime bubble; the massive increases in healthcare costs, the possibility of retiring after 45 or 50 years in the workforce has been snuffed out for nearly everyone. (more…)