Retirement Guide 2009

Now more than ever, it's vital to lay a financial foundation for your future.

Putting the nest egg together again

Amid investment losses, a lousy job market, falling housing prices, and rising health-care costs, is it possible to build - or rebuild - retirement finances? Yes, insist financial experts, and the sooner the better.

When was the last time you adjusted your retirement portfolio?

Sticking with 401(k) plans even after painful 2008: PhillyInc: Back in October, as the markets went haywire, I wrote about what I was doing with my investments. I did so because people kept asking me.
Increasingly, housing is best when it's shared: In this era of high living costs and shrunken nest eggs, retirement might mean a forced move in with the kids - or even with strangers.
Saving to Retire: Here are tips on how to make saving for retirement easier: 1. Pay off credit cards first. Paying down debt with high interest rates such as credit cards is essential.
Thinking honestly about savings: Better to cut back now than come up short later

It's time for an uncomfortable conversation about the facts of life. Some financial advisers are forcing their clients - even those with portfolios worth millions - to look at what remains in their nest eggs and ask themselves if they have enough to keep spending what they are used to spending.
Biting the bullet: Investment risk in these tough times: What you do depends on how close you are to retirement.

After the worst year for the stock market in decades and a financial crisis that has rocked the nation's banks, who could blame investors for wondering if there is a safe place to put their money now?
Survey: Calculating a comfortable retirement: Rising costs and uncertainty about the economy have workers less confident in their ability to save enough money to retire comfortably, say the authors of a new study released last month.

Reverse mortgages jump into high gear: Stimulus package has made them cheaper, easier to get.

Their retirement accounts flattened by the sour economy, older homeowners are increasingly turning to so-called reverse mortgages - the sometimes expensive loans that don't require payments until the borrower sells the home or dies.
For older workers, a paycheck is security: In tight times, retirements are being delayed - or ended.

In these scary economic times, older workers are putting off retirement and hanging on to their paychecks. And some retirees struggling to make ends meet are scanning help-wanted ads for the first time in years.
Retirement planning: These Web sites could help you plan retirement finances for yourself or for a member of your family. There is even one site that can assist you in preparing a retirement speech.
Pondering a 401(k) plan: Small firms should see retirement benefits as an important tool in the recruiting game.

One of the first questions many small-business owners hear from their accountants at tax time is whether they've started or funded a retirement plan. That's a painful topic during a recession.
Public pension funds are masking a funding crisis: The Chicago Transit Authority retirement plan had a $1.5 billion hole in its stash of assets in 2007. At the height of a four-year bull market, it didn't have enough cash on hand to pay its retirees through 2013, meaning it was underfunded to the tune of 62 percent.

Graphics: Retirement adjustments, preparing, working

Should 'forced savings' replace 401(k) plans?
Should the government force workers to save more?

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5 hidden costs of having roommates

The Street: Living with roommates is commonly touted as a way to save money. But sharing an apartment and a utility bill doesn't automatically cut your bills in half.