Elon Musk's advice to save nothing for the time after retirement is a tempting idea. And a dangerous one.
Because the Swiss pension system doesn't run on blind promises. It runs on contributions, compound interest and time. Anyone who stops saving at 40 because some technology will supposedly fix everything one day gives away precisely what can never be made up later: the years – and with them the time that works for each and every one of us.
Musk contradicts himself in the same breath, admitting that today barely half of American adults even have a cash reserve to cover three months. So the reality for many people isn't an abundance of savings, but a tight budget. You can't build a stable retirement on shaky ground. Even less so when it rests on a promise made in passing that no one can or wants to guarantee. The future remains uncertain – that much is certain.
That's why we at PensExpert clearly take a different view:
You can hope for a better future. But you should still finance it yourself.
Rafael Lötscher, CEO PensExpert
Musk is probably right that the world will change radically. Or perhaps not. Those who provide for the future are better off either way. Those who don't are placing a bet on their retirement – with their own old age as the stake.
The more interesting question isn't whether AI will change everything. It's: how, and what are the consequences for us all?
Image: Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons, lizenziert unter CC BY-SA 2.0
