It probably depends very much where you are in the world. I think in the neoliberal countries, especially the USA, it is a lot harder to save for retirement.

It's still possible in Malaysia but it is getting harder. The government requires employees to save 22% of their salaries every month. Employees pay 9%, the employer pays 13%. The government has a fund that invests the save amount. The account holder can then withdraw the amount they have accumulated once they turn 55, or keep it in the fund to collect more interest until they turn 65.

This system worked well in its first few decades but is definitely looking more strained these days.

Apart from Malaysia, I am aware that Singapore has a similar system, although their system is also looking strained, mostly because inflation has made things very much more expensive.

On the other hand, some of the Cambodians I know seem to be quite optimistic about the future, even though some of them are lowly-paid garment workers.

They might be showing more optimism because they feel that garment work is a step up from subsistence agriculture. But I suspect the threshold for savings for retirement is lower in Cambodia than in Malaysia, Singapore, or the USA, is because that society is still not as capitalistic, or the government provides them with more services, or simply because of lower expectations.

At least healthcare costs in all these countries are nowhere as ruinous as the USA, though!