Two weeks ago, General Electric (NYSE: GE) announced that they are freezing the pensions of 20,000 retirees.
The thought of finding out, in the midst of your retirement, that your penchant will be frozen is nothing short of horrifying. Unfortunately, for 20,000 retired GE employees, it’s a reality.
General Electric is a conglomerate that’s been around for over 100 years. At one point it was the most valuable company in the world, with a market value of $480 billion.
It is now worth $72 billion. It’s still a large company, but a far cry from its glory days.
Although it is very sad that many GE shareholders are in this position, there’s a lesson to be learned here: there is no such thing as a guarantee, even when it comes to pensions.
The only guarantee you have is the one that you create for yourself.
That’s why I’m such a big advocate for investing in the stock market.
If you work for the city, state or federal government, then your pension is pretty safe; however, I still recommend that you save and invest as if you don’t have a pension.
The worst thing that could happen is that you end up with a lot more money than you would have had otherwise.
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