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At about age 40 I was pretty certain I would be able to retire at 55, maybe 58 at the latest.

 I wasn’t sure exactly what I would do with my time (at age 40 I could still think of a lot of things) – I just knew I wasn’t going to be working the 60-hour weeks that had been my routine since getting out of the service. 

 I was earning a pretty good income and had been building up savings to supplement my company pension, and social security.  Health insurance coverage?  Not a concern.  I was extremely healthy and the premiums were so low I never even paid attention to them.  Retiree health benefits?  I don’t even remember if they were offered by my employer.  I would never be sick enough to care.

 I’d give anything to be in that environment again.

 A few layoffs later and somewhat “north of 60,” I’m still working full time (and I’m fortunate to have a great job helping people age 50+ to find good work). I’m covered by employer-provided health care and my 401(k) and IRA accounts are almost back to where they were seven years ago. 

 Regrettably, I am no longer eligible for employer-sponsored retiree health benefits. I will receive a whopping $100 monthly pension from my employer of 30 years ago while premiums for health coverage cost more than $600 a month. My projected social security benefit will be equal to about 20% of my current salary (35% if I work until I’m 70). 

 To make matters worse, the retirement calculators you see on the Web suggest that I (or someone at my age) should be saving about 25% of my salary and earning 10% compounded returns on savings to maintain my current standard of living in retirement.  I estimate the cost of living (primarily food, health care, energy, and property taxes) for people over 60 is running at a 15 to 20% growth rate.  So: less income, higher expenses and more uncertainty.

 I’m getting too old for this.

 So what to do?  Inherit wealth?  None that I know about.  Marry into a wealthy family?  Too late.  Have numerous children who will take care of me in my golden years?  Too late again – I’m already in my “golden years.”  Avoid chronic and severe illness?  Once again, too late.  Been there – done that.  I never anticipated that getting older would be this difficult. 

 That leaves pretty much one path.  Eat wisely, exercise, keep learning and be prepared to continue or return to work.  Getting older may not be as great as we once imagined, but it beats not getting older!  In fact, recent research strongly suggests that older workers are happier and healthier.  So even if you don’t need the money, working may be good for you.

 There are actually quite a few meaningful, rewarding and enjoyable jobs available for age 50+ workers.  They may not be in your primary occupation, and they may not pay what you earned during your “peak earning years,” but that $10,000 to $30,000 in annual income may make the difference between scraping by and living nicely.