About the guide
Planning to retire someday? Choices now are crucial
Maybe you took a hit in the stock market. Or you've yet to see your own recovery from the recession. Maybe it's a struggle just to make this month's rent or mortgage payment.
In this uncertain climate, you might think: Who can plan for retirement?
Sorry, think again.
Truth is, today more than ever, you'd better look to yourself to ensure a comfortable life after your career ends.
Evidence mounts that it's foolish to assume your retirement will be paid for by anyone else — whether Social Security or your employer.
With traditional sources of retirement income increasingly iffy, and fewer workers saving enough, a lot of people may wind up old and poor. Or old and still working.
If you want to earn a paycheck into old age, fine, but do you want to be forced to? If not, you need to take action. This special section provides pointers, including:
• Key strategies for each stage of life, to ensure you have enough to retire.
• What you can and can't count on — from Social Security to shaky pension funds — and how to protect yourself.
• How to calculate your needs, with saving tips.
• The trend of working past retirement age.
• Strategies to make sure your nest egg lasts as long as you do.
• How you can do good and make good at the same time by leaving a legacy.
• How to determine where you want to live and what that will cost.
You'll also find glimpses into the lives and pocketbooks of people facing, or mastering, the retirement challenge.
They share their setbacks and successes in the hope you can learn from both.
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