> In just thirty short years, we've gone from pension plans and savings rates that might actually leave you with more purchasing power than you started (when considering inflation) to...better gamble it all in the stonkz

Pensions and savings rates were always a gamble. These just provide an obfuscated the risk. Countless cities and companies are overburdened with pension obligations. Moreover, your retirement is always going to depend on the strength of the economy at the point time, so you might as well invest in broad indices.