How are you planning your retirement since statistics state?

Ashton

Seriously. I am trying to sock away all the money that I can. I am 64 and can not see the light at the end of the tunnel so I can retire. Life as I know it will cease to be. We will have to sell our home because my husband and I won’t be able to afford to keep it running.

Jaren

I intend to be very frugal and and downsize big time when the economy turns around. We live on quite a big of acreage and will sell then move to a modest and much smaller home. Don’t know if it will be locally or somewhere that is affordable, warm and dry for aching joints.

Daiseymae my husband’s genes dictate that he could very well drop over instantly like his mother and father did in their early 70’s. Subtract 10 years which statistics have proven that heart attacks happen which are passed on from father to son. He filed for surviorship on his disability pension from his employer to help me in case something like this happens. It significantly reduces the monthly pension he receives now but we trying to cover bases. I honestly share everyone’s fear and concern for our uncertain future.

Chase

My husband died six years ago and I was still working at the time and not close to retirement. There’s no way you can prepare for the possible death of someone. Just because statistically your husband might die, that doesn’t aid anyone in preparing specifically for that event. The best thing anyone can do in preparing for retirement is starting to plan for it as early as possible, even in your 20’s, and steadily save for it. That way, no matter what your situation in the retirement years, you’ll be in a much better place financially.

Shaun

Because of the type of work that we both did when we were first married; my husband and I have always had contingency plans for one or the other, or even both of us dying. We also have some plans in case we become disabled.

My husband has pensions that I will still receive a part of if he dies first.

Our life insurance policies would provide a cushion for whoever survives.

We have long term savings; both retirement savings with tax benefits and regular savings.

We are planning to renovate our home soon; even with the loans for the renovations, we will still have significant equity in our house-even in this housing market-and so we could sell the house and downsize if we need to at a later date. Renovating now is make sure the house is in good shape after we retire.

We are saving to replace our older car (1994 minivan). We’ll likely hold on to our new car for at least 10 years.

We have paid off all of our debt except for a small amount on our mortgage.

I don’t see either of us retiring completely. We both will likely do some episodic, consulting, or part time work. This will help with our finances, but we also both enjoy our work.

We are working with a certified financial planner. The advice and guidance is worth the cost.

Claudia

I’ve tried to plan several times but I lost 4 jobs that either went to another country or folded. Each time I lost benefits and my savings every time. My husbands is a Barber, and gets NO benefits. I carry his heath Ins. He had Encephalitis from a mosquito in 1968 and has memory loss. He can’t just work anywhere. He had a hard time making it through Barber school. I believe Medicare paid for this. In these times it’s almost impossible to save. I never give up on another plan though. I have to wait for better times and hope nothing else happens. We live frugally for now. I’m grateful we both have jobs for now. We have no more back ups.

Jaquan

My husband is retired, and is 11 years older than me, so I guess that its a high possibility that I’ll be a widow for some time. We are fully aware of this, and have planned accordingly. We live in a very convenient apartment, near to everything ,so we can walk (or use a motorised scooter !) to all amenities. His pension goes straight to me if he goes first, and mine will go to him .

If I was widowed, I’d stay right where I am. We belong to a couple of clubs, and are volunteers as well as me working, so I think I’d have some support in the community if I was alone. My son lives fairly near, so I’d have family support, too.

We have both worked very hard all our lives, and have put money away in a sensible manner, so we’ll never be in dire straits. Barring some sort of major disaster, I think we will be OK.