The ultimate problem with a "pension" system, as opposed to a set-aside savings program, is that no one can predict how many taxpayers or employees or whatever will be around to pay into it in the future. Regardless of your political preference [[I detect a lot of "rights of the little guy" soft-core socialism in responses to this thread), it is completely illogical to put your money [[and faith) in a system that has no predictable future. A pension system is literally structured like a ponzi scheme. As long as more people keep putting in, it works fine. But populations can shrink, along with employment numbers and tax bases. Most people would not actively choose to build a house on loose sand. It's not stable. And no one entity [[certainly not government; very many municipalities and states across the country are in dire financial straights) can stabilize a pension. If both the worker and the employer payment occur in the present, there is no debt obligation awaiting a generous and prosperous set of people in the future to pay it.