Retirement is a shared responsibility. The savings and pension plans, along with employees' personal savings and Social Security, provide ways to plan for the future.

We really need to think about four pillars for retirement. ... The first pillar is Social Security. The second is individual pensions or savings. The third is health insurance, very important. And the fourth, surprisingly, is the continued ability to earn, because many people are going to need to find some way of bringing in earnings after they pass normal retirement age, and we think that that should be more and more emphasized in terms of getting ready for that possibility.

Social Security is not a retirement savings plan; it is a social insurance program. It's a contract that says, as a society, we will look out for you and your family when you can no longer work.

Having a pension and Social Security [combined with private savings] allows most households to live as well after retirement as they did before. If you don't have a pension, you'll have to tighten your belt in retirement.

[Boeing negotiators also have been stressing that retirement resources should includes pensions, company-matched 401(k) savings, Social Security, and personal savings.] During these negotiations, there has been a lot of discussion about pensions ... What hasn't received much discussion is the concept of balance.

We need to take steps to strengthen and mend Social Security so that its promise of a secure retirement is just as real for seniors in the future as it is today.