In December, the bosses will have another weapon in their war on workers’ pensions. The U.S. Labor Department announced on Oct. 22 that in the misnamed Pension Protection Act, employers will now be able to automatically enroll workers’ retirement savings into 401(k) investment plans, unless the employees communicate an unwillingness to participate.
Under the new law, the bosses will no longer face liability for investment losses on those pension plans.
401(k) plans allow the capitalists to increase their profits by investing pensions—which are really accumulated and withheld wages—in the stock market. Historically, there have been countless examples of workers losing their entire pensions in stock market plunges, while their employers escape relatively unscathed.
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