I came across this article on CNN on black police officers in Georgia were only getting percentage of what white police officers who had similar lengths of service. What I found incredulous is not that we are still feeling the impact of historic racism today, but that it wasn’t until 1976 that black officers became eligible for the pension plan enjoyed by white officers. I was born in 1976.

While I think wholeheartedly in this situation that the Government of Georgia owes these police officers something to make up for the discrimination that they were subject to, pensions are tricky. It’s not just retired black police officers, but old NFL players, and airline workers. The problem with most pensions is the disconnect from what they are and what they should be.

The traditional view of pensions and the prevailing attitude is that they are a guarantee to provide us for in our old age. There’s nothing wrong with this attitude and view. However this view as of late has begun to conflict with the reality of the pension system. Pensions are nothing more than a promise to fund us in our old age, funded by a big pot of money paid by both past contributions and current earnings on the part corporations. The problem is that many companies (think auto companies) are not going to meet those obligations going forward. The money they’ve set aside is too little, and the business too weak. Nobody 50 years ago thought that GM would be on the brink of collapse, but here we are now.

Starting with the introduction of the 401k (and 403B), individuals are much more responsible for planning their own retirement, and that’s a good thing. Indivual responsbility leads to greater transparency, and keeps companies from making ill advised promises. I believe there should be a safety net for retired and retiring workers, but that safety nest is probably best handled outside of the confines of any individual business. The global economy is too fickle and too fast to believe that companies will be able to keep promises that it makes today in 50 years. Some will and some won’t, and I rather not hand over my retirement to luck of the draw.