The retirees with no money are going to form a voting block and force change in the government (Led by whom? The idiots who didn't save?)
actually, this was the one that legitimately worried me. what if?!?
This has basically already happened in Canada. Non-saving old people vote, even if they don't form an organized voting block, so they've already managed to achieve:
1. The Old Age Supplement, which basically doubles people's Canada Pension Plan earnings, but it's paid for out of today's tax revenues, rather than from what people contributed to it.
2. The Guaranteed Income Supplement, which makes sure that people over 65 make at least $16K a year, even if they never contributed to the pension plan or saved anything.
3. Lower taxes for pension income.
4. A extra $4K of untaxed earnings for people over 65.
The result? The elderly are now the demographic least likely to live in poverty. Hurray, I guess, but it would be nice to take care of children and younger adults as well.
(I realize this comment doesn't contribute anything to helping readers optimize their lives, but at least it's something Canadian readers can drag out the next time old people start whining at them.