Is it worth opting into a 401K if you won't reach retirement age until the 2060s

[Cassandra]

In other words, are you confident enough in the future of the financial markets, as well the institutions that support them like the courts, etc. that it is sensible to set aside ~5% of your income in some sort of retirement savings scheme.

Things like climate change, resource depletion, environmental degradation, and so on make me skeptical that the social fabric of the US will be intact, and that retirement strategies from the 20th century will be of much use.

[Kingpoleon]

I would certainly recommend some type of diversified investment. If interest rates get back to normal, people could actually save money nearly as fast by putting them back in banks. I know many elderly people who can’t afford to retire, because they assumed interest rates would stay high and calculated for that when saving money in banks, rather than the riskier stock market.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Yes. Changes in how the economy works in the future may affect what you choose to invest in, but you'll want to invest, and I'd recommend ~10% or more, but in any case at least enuf to maximize any employer match you can get.

[DC Al Fine]

Yes. Changes in how the economy works in the future may affect what you choose to invest in, but you'll want to invest, and I'd recommend ~10% or more, but in any case at least enuf to maximize any employer match you can get.

This.

In other words, are you confident enough in the future of the financial markets, as well the institutions that support them like the courts, etc. that it is sensible to set aside ~5% of your income in some sort of retirement savings scheme.

Things like climate change, resource depletion, environmental degradation, and so on make me skeptical that the social fabric of the US will be intact, and that retirement strategies from the 20th century will be of much use.

What do you suggest as an alternative to saving? Would you prefer to be too old to work in the awful 2060's you described without any savings?

Also 401ks usually have some sort of match so, you ought to opt in just for the free $$$

[Skill and Chance]

Yes. Changes in how the economy works in the future may affect what you choose to invest in, but you'll want to invest, and I'd recommend ~10% or more, but in any case at least enuf to maximize any employer match you can get.

This.

In other words, are you confident enough in the future of the financial markets, as well the institutions that support them like the courts, etc. that it is sensible to set aside ~5% of your income in some sort of retirement savings scheme.

Things like climate change, resource depletion, environmental degradation, and so on make me skeptical that the social fabric of the US will be intact, and that retirement strategies from the 20th century will be of much use.

What do you suggest as an alternative to saving? Would you prefer to be too old to work in the awful 2060's you described without any savings?

Also 401ks usually have some sort of match so, you ought to opt in just for the free $$$

IDK what he is envisioning.  If global equity markets actually had negative returns over a 50-100 year period, we would likely be in some kind of Fall of Rome/back to the 18th century kind of situation where most formal economic institutions no longer exist and those who still live to be elderly rely exclusively on their children/extended family for support, right?

[Cassandra]

Yes. Changes in how the economy works in the future may affect what you choose to invest in, but you'll want to invest, and I'd recommend ~10% or more, but in any case at least enuf to maximize any employer match you can get.

This.

In other words, are you confident enough in the future of the financial markets, as well the institutions that support them like the courts, etc. that it is sensible to set aside ~5% of your income in some sort of retirement savings scheme.

Things like climate change, resource depletion, environmental degradation, and so on make me skeptical that the social fabric of the US will be intact, and that retirement strategies from the 20th century will be of much use.

What do you suggest as an alternative to saving? Would you prefer to be too old to work in the awful 2060's you described without any savings?

Also 401ks usually have some sort of match so, you ought to opt in just for the free $$$

IDK what he is envisioning.  If global equity markets actually had negative returns over a 50-100 year period, we would likely be in some kind of Fall of Rome/back to the 18th century kind of situation where most formal economic institutions no longer exist and those who still live to be elderly rely exclusively on their children/extended family for support, right?

Right.