You made the smart choice. In a political environment where purchasing power is constantly being eroded, the only option is to stay ahead or on top of the wave by keeping assets invested and investing in new cash flow producing ventures.

A non COLA adjusted defined benefit just means you will continuously lose purchasing power, and even the COLA adjustments are subject to understatement due to political influences. Even Social Security is not immune, because at the end of the day, a smaller proportion of labor suppliers to labor buyers means less supply of labor per buyer, which means it has to get rationed somehow (for whatever amount does not get offset by automation/immigration).