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# Issue: Half of California Workers Are Heading for Retirement Troubles
March 19 2015
Written by Kelly Candaele.
[](https://www.addtoany.com/share)
Date: Mar 20, 2015
Wanda McGuire describes herself as a “people person.” She spent years working in the fashion industry, and flew around the country as a flight attendant for Continental Airlines. She also worked in what she refers to as “corporate America” — obscure law firms, property management companies and long-gone venture capital startups.
She exudes an enthusiasm and upbeat energy that she confidently outlines as major job assets. “I was good at what I did,” she says. It is clear that during her decades of work Wanda built up a strong set of organizational and administrative skills. But what she didn’t build up during those years of labor was a pension. No defined benefit pension, no 401(k) plan, no home equity to cash in on to ease her into retirement.
At a time in her 60s when she should be kicking back, doing some traveling or sharing the occasional dinner with friends, she mostly worries. With only her monthly $1,200 Social Security income, getting by is not easy. I met Wanda at the [St. Barnabas Senior Services Center](http://www.sbssla.org/) in Mid-City Los Angeles, where she gathered with other seniors for a hot meal.
There is a tragic sense that Wanda is not alone. Millions of Californians — like many tens of millions throughout the country — [lack](http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/6-3-million-private-sector-workers-in-california-lack-access-to-a-retirement-plan-on-the-job/)[ adequate pension security](http://laborcenter.berkeley.edu/6-3-million-private-sector-workers-in-california-lack-access-to-a-retirement-plan-on-the-job/) to sustain them after their work lives end. The ceaseless political attacks on defined benefit pensions, which guarantee workers a monthly income based on a percentage of their salaries during their working years, mean that more and more employees are forced to fend for themselves. *([Read the rest](http://capitalandmain.com/latest-news/issues/labor-and-economy/half-california-workers-heading-retirement-struggles-2/).)*
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 13 Issue 24
Pub: Mar 20, 2015
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