[rhombus]

I sure see a lot of them in the casinos.

[Sam's Army]

Some of my ancestors died before they got the chance to retire, others never had it as a birthright.

The real question is: Whose taxes should we raise to make everything in life "more better"?

[stylin19a]

Hey...these guys are writing about my retirement plan.

Max out the cards, pull all the equity out of the house then sell it, cash in the life insurance policy, the cd's.
keep he Ira's, and the 401k,
then retire....wait awhile...
then claim bankruptcy.

[Physicist]

In Austin, Ronald and Carol Godwin, 65 and 63, depleted their savings years ago and have since turned to credit cards and home equity to pay medical bills. They're struggling in retirement to pay off loans they took out years ago for a grandchild's college education.

Wait...I think I've identified whose taxes we should raise...

[ExtremeUnction]

The article said that a retiree's S/S check didn't cover all of his expenses. It isn't supposed to!

[Sabatier]

"Rising mortgage debt poses a serious threat to seniors' financial well-being, says Craig Copeland of the research institute, because they're "putting at risk their most important asset, their home."

Well, that's an asset you have to figure may very well go to the government or the nursing home at the end of the road. You have to start asset protection via a good lawyer long before you need long-term or nursing home care.

[JustRight]

""I had the impression I'd do more" in retirement, says Hettick, who lives on $1,100 a month from a pension and Social Security.

She thought she'd do more on $1,100 a month? Poor planning then. She's been retired for probably ten years, so she was probably pulling in less than $1,000 a month when she retired. Bad things happen and things get expensive, but poor planning and spending money you should have saved for retirement on luxuries is no reason for me to pity you.

[pabianice]

In Scott Depot, W.Va., Carl Brown, 68, has an impossible decision to make every month because his Social Security check usually doesn't cover all of his mortgage, utility, food and medical costs.

No sh*t! You mean your monthly SS check is supposed to be at least $4,000? Who knew?

[AlaskaErik]

It never ceases to amaze me that supposedly responsible people don't take responsibility for their retirement years. When I retire, my house will be fully paid off. There is no other debt I have to worry about. On top of that, I figure between my wife and myself, we'll have about $7000 a month in retirement income as well as medical coverage. But we planned for all of this.