Shifting the Burden: The Accidental Invention of the 401(k) and the Great Risk Transfer of American Retirement

For decades, the American dream of retirement was secured by the corporate pension—a guaranteed, mathematical promise that a lifetime of labor would be rewarded with financial stability until death. Today, that guarantee has nearly vanished, replaced by the ubiquitous 401(k) account, leaving individuals to navigate the volatile stock market on their own.

This monumental shift was never a planned economic strategy. The 401(k) was born in 1978 as an obscure, minor tax loophole intended only fo...