You're saying "retirement = pension" or a long term obligation for the employer. It doesn't work that way for MOST employers. Government, municipal, public schools, state governments, etc. and bigger unions are the last bastions of pensions. It's not as common as it once was. Most employers will use different ways to provide retirement benefits that also limit their long term employee retirement expenses. You should ask yourself which one of those employers is better off with dead employees? If you'd like to be conspiratorial about it, check out how the Chinese are flooding out their own farmers. The longest term retirement liability might be social security. It would be to the government's benefit to cull the ever-growing herd. But then we can't have our conspiracy about Joe ruining the country with currency debasement.