> Years ago, perhaps, it might not have been clear to the average person that money has to grow over time to stave off inflation, but that information has been widely available for decades and many people still don't put money into any kind of investment.

When the CPP was being reformed in the 1990s:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Pension_Plan#1998_refor...

There was a lot of debate about whether it should still be government run, or left to individuals, and it is exactly this situation that many folks said that there needs to be some component of retirement that should not be able to be touched by individuals.