The median savings for American families whose wage earners are between 56 and 61, is $17,000. [1]
34% of American adults have zero savings (retirement + non-retirement). [1]
Anecdotally, I had a Grandpa with a $60k/yr pension and he was definitely upper class.
[1] https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/13/heres-how-many-americans-hav...
By “pensions” do you mean defined benefit plans only?
“In 1980, more than 148,000 DB plans covered 30 million active workers (38% of the workforce), but by 2008 just over 48,000 DB plans covered 18.9 million American active workers (13% of the workforce). Over the same period, the number of DC plans increased from 340,850 to 669,156 with an increase in active workers covered from 14 million (14% of the workforce) in 1980 to more than 67 million (46% of the workforce) in 2008.”
I'm not sure that's a safe assumption. These bonds could be held by pension funds etc...
If I am a blue-collar worker nearing retirement, and I find out my pension plan just imploded, it's definitely going to impact my spending negatively.