401k funds are a trap.

I've been writing this for a long time: at some point, government will have no choice but to steal all or part of your retirement savings in order that it can use the money to stay in power longer.  As usual, the marginal countries see these aspects of the global economic collapse before the top tier countries but I have no doubt that all countries will get hit.

Greece has been getting cut after cut to the government pension system.  Read the latest on this here
.   "As a retired farmer he survives on a pension of 500 euros (£380) a month, but now, as Greece's economic crisis deepens, his pension is to be reduced to 300 euros."  The article talks about old people having to forage for a living.  On one hand it is pathetic that the pump and dump has done this to people.  On the other hand, the old codger in the article is 80 years old and still hiking up and down mountains to look for edible plants.  Maybe the curse is a blessing in disguise...

But I digress from the main theme which is that the growing signs of retirement fund theft by government are growing world wide.  Today's story on this comes from down under where they call their version of 401ks "superannuation funds".   Like all 401k type programs, they were initially sold to the people with provisions for early withdrawal of fund under special circumstances.  The goal was to make the program seem safe and reasonable to the masses by showing the open door of a possible exit if needed.

One of the signs I have told people to look for is when those doors begin to slam shut and that is the point of linking you to this article on superannuation funds: "MULTIPLE superannuation funds are preventing cash-strapped members from accessing their retirement savings prematurely.
And some desperate members are even being forced to switch funds who will allow them the early release of their savings just so they can survive.

Department of Human Services of Australia figures showed a significant climb in members accessing their retirement savings in the 2014/15 financial year before they reached preservation age.
But REST Super, Sunsuper and Super SA are among the funds who have banned members from accessing their retirement funds early even if they are suffering financial woes.
REST Super’s chief operating officer Andrew Howard said retirement savings are designed for life after work and are not there to help pull members out of financial troubles."

And so it begins.  The highly leveraged and thus cash strapped superannuation funds do not want people pulling their money out because the system is fractionally reserved just like the broader fake paper money system.  It works like this: funds are supposed to return a set rate (at least) per annum.  But when they cannot do it because of down stock market and negative interest rates, they end up taking on margin leverage in some form or fashion and margin always requires certain capital levels to be maintained lest the debtor gambler receive a margin call.

So the pension fund money managers are damned if they do, damned if they don't. As long as the music keeps playing, they will keep dancing but the economic music is slowing down.  The funds that are cutting off redemption avenues are most likely the weakest of the weak but all of them are in the same deflationary boat. They claim to care about people saving money for their retirement but who are we supposed to believe these guys are, Mother Teresa?  They don't give two shits about anyone or anything except THE MONEY.  Period. 

So hear me now and believe me later.  They have already pumped us up.  The dump is coming.  No pump and dump Ponzi scheme ever went on forever and it won't be different this time. First we will see some major supposedly safe retirement funds bust wide open around the world and yes even in the US and then the government will step in and nationalize what is left, again in the name of saving us. 

Well, I mean, saving you.  What they do doesn't matter to me at all.  I have already exited the 401k system a long time ago and will never store my wealth in that trap again.  They can use their pen to steal from everyone else on the planet but if they want to steal from me it will be a running gun battle.  Since there are so few like me I'm guessing that it just won't be worth their trouble to come after me to "pay my fair share".   I'm not trying to insult anyone here but folks if you cannot see the signs of this coming then you almost deserve to get fleeced.  I hope my readers, having had the benefit of being warned early and often, will cut off all voluntary payments to government controlled retirement funds and instead do real saving using real money (gold and silver coins, held in your own hands).