Did you not comprehend my question? I asked for an example of a 14.5 year period where a major index lost money. It looks like the Dow topped out in 07 at about 14,000, crashed, and recovered back to 14,000 in 2013. We are currently 12 year out from the crash and if you had put money in at the high right before the crash, you would have almost doubled it by today.
But lets say I was retiring in 2008, my retirement account was cut in half. Now one is saying that long term, you are not better off in the market, but that is over a 20 to 40 year span.
A 57 year old guy in 2007, looking to retire at 62 would not have come close to doubling his money back.
If defined benefits are such a loser like some claim, I would think every factory in America would be endorsing them instead of pulling away. Factories have learned that most young workers are not using their 401K program so the employer does not have to match much at all. But in a defined benefits program they have to put that money into the program. They have no choice. 401K help the employer in terms of costs, a lot more than a defined benefits program.
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4145460-much-401-k-lose-next-market-crash