retirement posts

By Dan Caplinger
The Motley Fool

Retirement savings took a huge hit during the financial crisis and market meltdown five years ago, with savers of all ages feeling the brunt of plunging markets. But members of Generation X -- those born between 1966 and 1975 -- suffered the worst declines in their net worth from the crisis and saw the least recovery in the years that followed.

As a result, Gen-Xers are in bad shape when it comes to retirement readiness, as a recent study from the Pew Charitable Trusts concluded. With only enough financial resources to replace half of their pre-retirement income, the key question for Gen-Xers on the whole isn't how financially secure their retirement will be, but rather whether they'll be able to retire at all.

By Catherine Baab-Muguira
Daily Finance

"People haven't saved enough for retirement."

There's a lot of research talking about Canadians' lack of retirement savings. It looks like people are buying into those messages too.

Unfortunately though, the information appears to be affecting the would-be retiree's psyche, with troubling results: Half believe they'll exhaust their retirement savings in less than 10 years, but a significant number don't know for sure, and a large number of people won't even consider certain income options.

"This all suggests to me that people are trying to avoid thinking about it," says Investor Education Fund (IEF) president, Tom Hamza.

Do you know someone who is downsizing, specifically to finance their retirement? Perhaps they're renting out part of their home, or selling their home altogether to become renters themselves?

Be kind. It's an emotional, and difficult decision they've made - one that probably wasn't arrived upon lightly, and one they were probably driven to by real need.

After having given tips for retirees and near-retirees earlier in the week, today we're turning to the particular issues that most affect people in their 40s and early 50s. As you'll see, the balancing act that middle-agers have to manage requires a different set of financial skills than what you'll use later in your career.

Have you given much thought to what you want to do with your retirement? Whatever you're imagining, I bet it doesn't include filing for bankruptcy or a significant drop in your living standards. Yet that's the reality facing many Canadians as they enter retirement today.

So what could we be doing to better plan for retirement? For one thing, says the Financial Planning Standards Council (FPSC), we could focus less on RRSPs and more on a holistic approach to financial planning.