Each year, the Oxford University Press proclaims a “word of the year,” — and this year they chose “rage bait[i].”
Now, even the Oxford proponents admit that this is actually TWO words (all while professing that they are not trying to “rage bait” folks by choosing two words) — distinguishing it from the “etymologically related” clickbait as having a more specific focus[ii] on evoking anger, discord, and polarization.
In other words, whereas we once said “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me…” Well, now it seems words can.
We are, of course, routinely inundated with negative assessments of American workers’ retirement readiness, retirement confidence, and financial acumen. We’re told that the system is “broken,” that there’s a retirement “crisis,” that billions (if not trillions) of retirement savings have been “forgotten,” and that individuals think they will need about twice as much in retirement savings as surveys tell us they actually have.
And this from the folks who are supposedly proponents of the current system.
Indeed, as anyone who reads these columns can attest, our industry is replete with posts designed to encourage clicks — but rage? Not so much (well, apart from these columns). See, “we” not only perpetuate these dismal assessments, but we also click, like, AND share them with our various networks.
And every time you do, there’s someone out there who actually believes the system is broken and needs to be replaced and says to themselves (and often to folks on Capitol Hill), “See, even their experts think it needs to be replaced!”
Moreover, that pessimistic commentary from retirement industry leaders does find its way into mainstream publications. Publications that, it seems fair to say, operate under the assumption that “if it bleeds, it leads.” And so, the negative headlines are then — sadly —often supported and, worse, magnified by commentary from (ostensibly well-meaning) industry experts.
The problem isn’t that retirement outcomes can’t be improved. They absolutely can. Coverage gaps persist. Pre-retirement distributions (a.k.a. “leakage”) remain a challenge. Workers rely on default rates that are too conservative — and yes, some do, in fact, lose track of old accounts.
Workers have no idea what their retirement financial needs will be — but the headlines consistently suggest they needn’t bother — it’s hopeless, after all — even the experts say so. While that old adage cautions against the impact of “sticks and stones” words — yes, mere words — can, in fact, be hurtful.
Sadly, rage bait thrives on oversimplification. It ignores the reality that today’s VOLUNTARY retirement system — while imperfect — has nonetheless helped millions accumulate meaningful savings, often with employer contributions they wouldn’t have received otherwise. It dismisses decades of progress in automatic enrollment, auto-escalation, and default investments because those facts complicate the narrative.
As we head into a new year, I’d ask that our industry (that’s YOU, gentle reader) rethink our current positionings. That we’d be willing to engage in a little “rage baiting” of our own — to call out surveys and headlines with false and misleading narratives for what they are —click bait — and worse.
Let’s instead highlight the very real possibilities that the current system, properly used and yes, still evolving – can and has already provided tens of millions of working Americans.
- Nevin E. Adams, JD
[i] In case you were wondering, the runners up were (apparently) aura farming and biohack. For those interested in a historical perspective, you can check out the selections from the past couple of decades at Oxford Word of the Year: defining the past 20 years - Oxford University Press.
[ii] Even more precisely, they note that it applies to “Online content deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative, or offensive, typically posted in order to increase traffic to or engagement with a particular web page or social media account”.
No comments:
Post a Comment