Admit it. We've all been there. You're in the middle of an employee education meeting on retirement plans and someone (in their twenties, no less) invariably asks, "Why should I save? Social Security will take care of me when I retire."
Your first reaction is "What!? Chances are Social Security as you know it won't even be around when it's your time to retire." But you hold it in. Experience tells you this question represents only the tip of the iceberg. If one person is asking it, a hundred are thinking it.
Yes, 401(k) plan participants ask the darnedest questions. You can't snicker at them. Your challenge is to seize them as an opportunity to rid employees of often harmful misconceptions, (see "5 Awkward 401(k) Questions Every Good Fiduciary Must Know the Answer To," FiduciaryNews.com, November 28, 2017). These straight-from-the-heart questions reveal the naïve honesty of many retirement savers.
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Christopher Carosa
Chris Carosa has been writing a weekly article and monthly column for BenefitsPRO online and BenefitsPRO Magazine since 2011 and is a nationally recognized award-winning writer, researcher and speaker. He’s written seven books, including From Cradle to Retire: The Child IRA; Hey! What’s My Number? – How to Increase the Odds You Will Retire in Comfort; A Pizza The Action: Everything I Ever Learned About Business I Learned By Working in a Pizza Stand at the Erie County Fair; and the widely acclaimed 401(k) Fiduciary Solutions. Carosa is also Chief Contributing Editor of the authoritative trade journal FiduciaryNews.com and publisher of the Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel, a weekly community newspaper he founded in 1989. Currently serving as President of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and with more than 1,000 articles published in various publications, he appears regularly in the national media. A “parallel” entrepreneur, he actively runs a handful of businesses, including a small boutique investment adviser, providing hands-on experience for his writing. A trained astrophysicist, he also holds an MBA and has been designated a Certified Trust and Financial Advisor. Share your thoughts and story ideas with him through Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/christophercarosa/)and Twitter (https://twitter.com/ChrisCarosa).
