We have been through three lay-offs. Go through that and see how much savings you have left.
"Many of these people were promised pensions, which in the world of the past were inviolate. They were paid less because they had pensions, and then the companies pulled the pension out from under them."
I worked for a state institution, a public University, and retired almost 2 years ago (wonderful!). In my administrative position as Ass't to the Head of a large science department on campus, I wasn't paid that great, but to compensate for that we had good pension packages. I am extremely lucky in that our pensions are protected by our State Constitution which assures that all state pensions must be paid and not screwed around with. So, unless the State itself goes under, I am protected.
Now, the healthcare part of our benefit package is subject to dinking around with, but so far so good. I suspect our co-pays will continue to go up for our doctor office visits; however, I don't have to pay health insurance premiums anymore, as they are paid as part of my benefit package. And, I don't have to pay State income taxes. Plus I have dental and eyecare to boot, as well as drug coverage. Now, one could say, typical gov't largess; however, I was never paid well for the amount of work I had to do, the hours I had to work, and the responsibilities I had, like many others in middle management administrative positions. In exchange, my benefit package was very good.
I am now reaping that which I worked very hard for and enjoying it to boot, and I pity anyone who has had the pension "rug" pulled out from under them, when they worked all their lives expecting their benefit packages to be honored. I don't like it when companies renege on their promises to their employees because of their own bad planning. It' cruel. Now, if it is a small company, and it goes belly-up, well, that's life. But some of these large corporations, which are now shafting their employees by changing the rules of the game after it's in their ninth inning, are just a bunch of louses. Change the rules for all new hires, but leave the older employees' benefits alone. Plus, a lot of these companies are trying to foist their pension expenses off on the federal government. That stinks too.
Again, there is plenty of proof that people in the US DO NOT save for retirement. And the average pay in the US is $36,764. Yes, one can save even a little on that.