The typical American couple has only $5,000 saved for retirement

``The do-it-yourself pension system is a disaster. Even as the traditional company-funded pension has nearly disappeared and even as Social Security benefits are being slowly eroded, most workers haven't saved enough to offset those losses to their retirement income. Seventy percent of couples have less than $50,000 saved... The sad fact is that most Americans are less prepared for retirement than Americans were 30 years ago. Few have enough pension wealth to make much difference in their lives once they stop working.'' -- This has little to do with the precise form the pension system takes; the problem is that the net societal investment product that generated the surplus from which people could retire is gone. This is a function of the erosion of the monetary base and investment mechanism.