Debt holds many Boomers back

With the average Baby Boomer a half-million dollars short on retirement savings, the prospects for actually retiring look slim. So what do we do about it?

Baby Boomers, forget about retirement. We'll be working for the rest of our lives. OK, that may be an exaggeration, but not by much.

We have not saved enough money. And worse, many of us will still be up to our eyeballs in debt when we do retire. We're just one medical emergency away from bankruptcy.

According to Boomers and Retirement, a new survey by TD Ameritrade, the average Baby Boomer is about a half-million dollars short on retirement savings.

And 74% of Boomers in the survey say they will have to rely heavily on Social Security in retirement. (The average Social Security check, by the way, is $1,230 a month.) Read more >>

Retirement 'Perfect Storm' Coming in 2013

An estimated 7 million Americans will reach the age of 65 by the start of 2013, and many will no doubt be thinking about retiring. But even if falling off the "fiscal cliff' is avoided, some financial experts are warning anyone thinking about trading in their paycheck for a retirement fund next year.

"It's kind of a perfect storm in 2013 when you think about it," said Jason Wheeler, CEO of Pathfinder Wealth Consulting.

"With questions about taxes, spending cuts, the markets, health care-and then put those together with the number of seniors wanting to retire or will lose their jobs-the year could be a rough one when it comes to retirement," he said.

Topping Wheeler's worry list seniors are taxes. "The magnitude of what a retiree will pay on their investments could really hurt their finances," he said. "And right now we don't know what that will be." Read more >>