The CEO of the largest money management firm on Earth has suggested one way to ease the crunch facing the US retirement system, though it might not be the most popular: Everyone should just work longer—or retire later, if that way of putting it is easier to swallow. That was the solution suggested in BlackRock boss Larry Fink's annual letter to shareholders, CBS News reports. "No one should have to work longer than they want to," Fink wrote. "But I do think it's a bit crazy that our anchor idea for the right retirement age—65 years old—originates from the time of the Ottoman Empire."
There's a tie-in to the firm he helms: More people need to invest more of what they have in capital markets to set themselves up for comfortable retirements, writes Fink. BlackRock reports that more than half of the $10 trillion in assets it manages are for retirement, per the Wall Street Journal. "He's steering the conversation toward BlackRock—and a lot of people who talk about Social Security reform on Wall Street want to privatize it in some manner and make money," one economist pointed out. Two standout quotes from his letter, which can be read here:
- "As a society, we focus a tremendous amount of energy on helping people live longer lives. But not even a fraction of that effort is spent helping people afford those extra years."
- "No other force can lift more people from poverty or improve quality of life quite like capitalism."
(More
Larry Fink stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
