My retirement position is 100% in the U.K, where state pensions (pitiful as they are) are pay-as-you-go (ie the contributions of the current labour market are used to pay the current retirees). There is no collective state fund that accumulates and then later pays out. I have a personal pension, like most, which doesn’t have a defined position in real estate (although I’m sure some of the stocks in the fund would be affected by a real estate crash, both up and down).
So yeah, like most people, I don’t want to socialise losses in somebody else’s investment nor do I expect anyone to come and rescue my personal pension if it tanks based on some global change.
It’s sad that the poorer part of our population can’t save for retirement. I wish it was different.
But I think you’re implying that because wealthy people can save more, it’s ok if wealthy people lose their savings. If that is truly the case, I don’t think we will gain much from a debate on that topic - and I actually don’t think it changes my point above anyway.
I’m not 100% ok what you mean when you suggest I stop mugging myself off. Are you implying that I’m naive about who holds pensions? I’m not - it’s obviously the more well off that can afford to save more.
But I would caution a little bit against taking an absolutist view on this. Someone on minimum wage saving 10% of their income into a retirement fund will inevitably end up with a smaller position (in absolute terms) than someone on a six figure salary. In relative terms they might be in very similar positions though.