Dow goes below 9000

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Well its hard for me, a college student who has never actually held a real job, to explain, but ill attempt to do so..

Pensions are usually just where a company that an employee has worked for his entire life continues to receive some amount of money after he retires from the company. This was more prevalent in the early 20th century America, where americans would work at one company their entire working life (especially in small towns, where there was one predominant company that drove the economy of the small town that most, if not all, of the town's workforce worked for).

This does not apply in 21st century America, where the average worker will have 7 careers (career meaning major change in job, not just working for another company doing similar work) in his lifetime. One does not hold a job long enough for a company to warrant giving a pensions anymore. Instead, americans use a 401(k) plan (or similar retirement plan) to provide enough money for after retirement. This plan would have worked as well, but in comparison to the mid 20th century, the average lifespan has gone up at least 10 years, while the generally-accepted retirement age has been fairly constant (65). People are living longer after their retirement, thus putting a strain on these retirement plans.