Social Security benefits are dwindling, corporate pensions are dying and Americans are living longer. In short, plan for a long retirement or risk getting sentenced to old age with few amenities.
Most experts now recommend building a retirement income to last 30 to 40 years. That's because more of us are living into our 80s and 90s -- more are even hitting the century mark.
Longer lives often mean greater medical expenses. And many employers are cutting retiree coverage, increasing out-of-pocket expenses.
"The real danger here is not that your parent will spend your inheritance on long-term care -- that'll happen anyway," said Dan Taylor, a Charlotte lawyer and author of the Parent Care Conversation (Viking Penguin, 2006). "The real danger is, they'll spend your own retirement, after the inheritance has run out."
The U.S. life expectancy is currently 77. And the over-65 crowd is on track to double to more than 77 million by 2040, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
"Everything is coming together for an explosion in our retirement system," said Steven Casto, a retirement expert and author of Is Your Retirement Heading In the Right Direction? (Strategic Wealth Solutions, 2005).
Experts say global terrorism and energy pricefluctuations might exacerbate savings shortfalls for the ill-prepared.Both factors can rattle financial markets and make it harder for latesavers to make up for lost time.
