There are few things that get people as excited as talking about theories of economics, right? I mean, who doesn’t love talking about supply and demand, coupled with actions by the Fed to stabilize both M1 and M2?

Ok, I get it, economics can be pretty dull, all while being one of the most important things undergirding most Americans’ daily lives. Small economic policy changes, whether by law, executive action, court ruling or other economic actors, can create significant impacts on the pocketbooks of large numbers of Americans.

Which brings us, quite naturally, to my military career. You see, the smartest thing I ever did, I did by accident. Similarly, the minor story reported on page 26 of the newspaper may turn out to be, in hindsight, the most important story of the day. 

Both those thoughts occurred to me when I read the Colorado Politics story about a change in governmental policy that was announced with no fanfare or fuss. It seems that in early March, the U.S. Department of the Treasury quietly changed a rule to permit companies that had been offering traditional pensions to dump those pensions (and the decades of responsibility that came with them) by giving retired workers a lump sum payment to “buy out” the pension of said workers. 

The smartest thing I did was stay on active duty for over 25 years. I initially joined the Air Force, after ROTC in college, with a plan to stay for a tour or so, out of a sense of duty to the country that had allowed me to grow up in a middle-class society in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I overcame, well, not much, in life, and I felt it proper to “pay back” my great country with a few years of military service.

Then I blinked, and it was 25 years later, and I was retiring.

I very much enjoyed my military time and I got to do and see some amazing things. And a military pension was, at least in the first few years, the farthest thing from my mind.

I think that my indifference to the pension plan, at least at first, was due in part to my growing up in southeast Michigan. Our fourth-grade school trip was to the GM plant in Detroit to watch cars being made. We did entire units on the auto industry (I still remember there were 11 major steps to final assembly of a car). I flew my R/C airplanes with lots of Ford workers, who had great union jobs and good pension plans. Being taken care of in your old age by the company you served for decades was normal. 

Back in 1980, 92 percent of private savings plans were employer driven and looked a lot like a pension. But just 30-plus years later, better than three-quarters of retirement plans converted to an employee-driven system, most often a 401 (k) plan. Most Americans now work within a system wherein their retirement future is largely dependent on their own willingness to shift a chunk of each paycheck into a savings account. And we Americans are notoriously short-sighted when it comes to saving for our retirements.

Which brings me to the “minor story” that is anything but minor. The aforementioned Treasury Department policy change does not seem likely to be in the retiree’s best interest. Companies can dump their responsibility for the future with a lump sum payment now. And how likely do we think it is that the lump sum payment, calculated by the company, will actually reflect what the retiree would have gotten over the years, especially when they live long lives? And people are people – the allure of what seems like a really big check right now may seem like a siren song, but alas, in the out years, when that money is gone more quickly than expected, well, let’s just say times will be rough for lots of old people (I am so fortunate to have earned a military pension that can’t be bought out).

And why are companies doing this? Because pensions are big expenses to companies, and Wall Street likes companies with lean, efficient business models. I urge you to read the entire article, even though it is from CNN (I tossed that in to irritate my conservative friends).  It’s eye-opening.

Mr. Trump is continuing his war on the middle class, which may help if you are already rich, but if you are a “working Joe or Jane” you need to pay attention. Sometimes the most important story isn’t the one with the biggest headline. 

Hal Bidlack is a retired professor of political science and a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who taught more than 17 years at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.