Background

In today's world of do-it-yourself retirement, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other investment products have become important components of a person's retirement assets. For this reason, the retirement security of Americans may be one of the greatest casualties of the financial crisis. The financial meltdown that this country experienced wiped out an estimated $2 trillion in retirement savings in just 15 months' time. The dwindling of retirement assets, which amounted to about a 20-percent overall decline, has come at a time when many people, including older voters, are grappling with more credit-card debt, declining home values, and reduced access to loans. … Back to Article