> Bank system collapses

This is not just about bank collapses.

Cyprus was a money grab by the govt. Banks were fine.

There are also examples in this thread of folks getting their money frozen by govt decree.

How does that work? For tail risk, you buy what you need. That’s why it’s tail risk.

Like, if I’m buying flood insurance, I don’t buy less insurance because I don’t think floods are likely in my area. I buy floor insurance to cover my house.

There are lots and lots of places where flood insurance isn’t available because flooding is likely.

All risk assessment involves local conditions. Determining what is tail risk and what is likely is a central part of the exercise.

Does insurance exist for when a country's banking system collapses? (This is different from a bank collapse, where in the US, FDIC deposit insurance should do the job, if you're within its limits.)

It is called a negative interest rate and it is the most despised kind of insurance because everyone thinks they are the grifter that will get ahead this time and a negative interest makes grifters pay for the damages they cause to society which means they stop grifting. By grifting I mean delaying the usage of the medium of exchange until the breaking point of the economic system to get concessions from it which is effectively a bribe by society to cease this collapse seeking behaviour.

Saving for retirement seems normal and expected. Do you mean something else?