YOUR MONEY

Is Early Retirement Great? For

Some, Its Hard Work to Have Fun
For the first few months after Jon Helmuth retired three years ago, he
slept late, acquired a tan and showered at odd times. Actually, some days
he didnt bother to shower at all.

After that pleasantly aimless interval, Mr. Helmuth, a divorced father of

four who is now 45, began organizing his five-bedroom house in the woods
of Vandalia, Mich., a village near the Indiana border. But once he
alphabetized the spice rack and finished making an easy chair out of
castoff designer jeans, I started running out of things to do, he said.

Those who recall their own freshman year of retirement will, perhaps, nod
knowingly and sympathetically. Been there, done that.

But the situation is different when you retire very early too early even to
get your first membership solicitation from AARP. While early retirement
and a life of leisure may sound like the stuff of daydreams, the reality can
be jarring for people who are used to being busy and important. There
can be boredom, a sense of isolation and a lot of awkward social questions.

Mr. Helmuth, for instance, was only 42 when he sold his stake in Genesis
Products, an Elkhart, Ind.-based manufacturer of wood and laminate
doors, furniture and other components that he helped found in 2002. I
used to be kind of a big deal, and now Im not, Mr. Helmuth said, adding
that he left with around $5 million.

I dont need to work again as long as Im not incredibly stupid, he said.

Then again, the people who might either want to help him spend his
money or resent his good fortune tend to be busy with jobs. I feel like
all my buddies are at school and Im at home with mono, he said. And
there are no retirement homes for 45-year-olds.

Early retirees are an anomaly, said Sara E. Rix, a former senior strategic
adviser for AARP who is now a consultant to nonprofits. The trend is in
the other direction, she added.
 According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the work force participation
rate for people in the 65-to-69 age range increased to 32.1 percent in 2015,
from 18.4 percent in 1985.

Those who choose to clock out a good 10, 20 or 25 years ahead of schedule
rarely have financial worries otherwise, presumably, they would still be
on the payroll. They have lived within their means and saved enough to
carry them through, or, like Mr. Helmuth, they have cashed out of a
business. Maybe they have come into an inheritance or have a spouse who
is still bringing home a paycheck.

But they do have other concerns: Whats the best response to strangers at
parties who ask, So what do you do? How do they handle peers curiosity
(can you really afford to do this at your age?) and envy (so you really CAN
afford to do this!)? What kind of message are they sending their children?

For Donna Buxton, who had a very demanding job in computer operations
in the health care industry until her retirement at 46, the big issue was
guilt. Never mind that her husband, Michael, who at the time was the
president of a forging company, was doing well enough on his own to
support the family the couple has one daughter and was encouraging
her to walk away.

I had a very strong work ethic, and I felt I should be contributing to the
household in a financial way, said Ms. Buxton, now 55, who lives in Villa
Park, Calif. But my husband kept repeating to me that he didnt want me
to work for the sake of working he wanted me to work only if I were
passionate about it.

Her passion had been dampened by the round-the-clock nature of her job.

The stress level was so high, and it was taking such a huge toll on the
family, that we decided it wasnt worth it anymore, Ms. Buxton said.

Since retiring, she has become involved in civic affairs and joined a golf
group and a health club. She has had some job offers, but, she said, I
was so burned out I turned them down.

Stress reduction was also what Al Villeta was after when he retired last
year, at 52, from his job as a UPS driver and porter in Forest Hills,
Queens.

Mr. Villeta said he loved his job but it was physically demanding and he was ready to retire.
Walking away was the happiest day of my life.CreditAnnie Tritt for The New York Times
I loved it, he said, but it was physically demanding, and toward the end
it was getting harder and harder to work with the public. Walking away
was the happiest day of my life.

The most he ever made in a year, Mr. Villeta said, was $80,000; on
average it was $60,000 to $65,000. But his family lived frugally, and he
and his wife (who is still working as a department head at a long-term
health care facility) had invested in real estate, which provides a steady
and predictable income stream.

Sometimes I feel awkward saying Im retired because people will say,

You look so young to be retired, said Mr. Villeta, who has two adult
children. Or theyre thinking, How much could a UPS driver make that
he could have enough to retire?

With his contemporaries still in the work force, Mr. Villeta now pals
around with men 30 years his senior. Ive petitioned my wife to give up
her job, but she feels very connected to the people she works with, he
said. Sometimes I feel lonely during the day, so I got a dog, which was
very helpful. He keeps me company and gets me out of the house a little
bit.

For some young retirees, family issues drive the decision to exit the work
force. When Mr. Helmuths marriage broke up in 2012, I felt I needed
some resetting, he recalled.

I wasnt feeling great about my work-life balance, he added. My

business partner wanted to double down and do a lot of additional
expansion, and I was like, Hey, go for it. We separated on good terms.

Matters can be particularly fraught for those young retirees who worked in
a highly successful family business that was sold in advance of the
founders death.

I have 35- and 40-year-old clients who are inheriting great sums of
money, and theyre not going to be sending out their rsums again, said
Ricardo J. Armijo, a senior vice president and portfolio manager in the
Birmingham, Mich., office of UBS. A lot of them take up biking or playing
golf and tennis because their contemporaries are working during the day.

This type of schedule, Mr. Armijo said, can lead them to questions like,
How do I set a good example for my children? and Am I being a
productive? because they come from families of go-getters.
 According to Mr. Armijo, these young retirees tend to take extra care with
their investments.

They dont make decisions on the spot, as perhaps they did before, when
they still were working and had income from their jobs, he said.

If they had a bad streak in the market, they could recoup. But now their
attitude is, This money is it, Mr. Armijo continued. They dont want to
be known to future generations as the ancestor who lost the family
fortune.

There is an adjustment period to this new reality. But after a few years,
Mr. Armijo said, they get used to their new situation in life, and the
following years are very fulfilling.

Thats a common theme. I never wanted to go back to work, said Sue

Tafler, 69, of Lexington, Mass., who was 51 when she retired from
Prentice-Hall as a textbook editor and began volunteering at her
synagogue instead. But not everyone is so emphatic, she acknowledged: I
have friends whove retired and take part-time jobs they cant let go.

Retiring happily is one thing, of course, and announcing it loudly and

proudly is quite another. It took four or five years before I could say I was
retired, Ms. Buxton said. I would just say, Im not working right now.

Mr. Helmuth also sees a certain stigma in the word. People hear
retirement and think you play a lot of golf and have a lot of dumb
hobbies, he said.

On the contrary, he has begun producing movies, including the 2015

documentary The Flying Dutchmen, an account of his cross-country
motorcycle trip with a friend who has a degenerative eye disease.

Retirement started out as a vacation, Mr. Helmuth said, and now its
become a huge life journey.

A Concerned Billionaire Develops

a Plan for Retirements
Early last year, Hamilton E. James, president of the private equity giant
Blackstone, received a bit of a jolt. Mr. James, at 65, was eligible to
collect Social Security payments, but when he went to check his benefits,
he could not believe what he saw.

My wife and me would have to live on $2,600 per month, even with me
paying in the max the whole time, said Mr. James. Which for a couple in
Manhattan how can you do that?

Not that he would meet such a fate. Mr. James is a billionaire whose take-
home pay last year was $233 million, so, as he is quick to point out, he and
his family will be well taken care of when he decides to call it quits.

But Mr. James started asking himself: What about less fortunate
Americans? What kind of nest eggs had they set aside for retirement?

So, in the spirit of an investment banker doing due diligence, Mr. James
began to dig, poring over academic papers, calling labor economists and
crunching numbers.

The results were worse than he expected.

The average retirement savings for Americans from the ages of 40 to 55 is

$14,500, Mr. James discovered. Sixty-eight percent of working-age
Americans do not have an employer-sponsored retirement plan. And by
2050, 25 million Americans are projected to face lives of poverty when
they stop working.

I think we have a big problem, Mr. James said, adding, We really need
to do something about this.

One step that Mr. James has taken together with Teresa Ghilarducci, a
specialist in retirement economics at the New School for Social Research,
is to publish a book explaining how he would make things right with
retirement. Rescuing Retirement, which features these troubling
retirement statistics in its first pages, was released in September in
paperback and e-book formats.

Recently, Mr. James took an hour out of his busy day to slip out of his
office into a connecting boardroom to make the case that the country faces
a looming crisis in preparing Americans for their postjob lives.

He wore a monogram shirt and had an easy air of authority that comes
with a life arc of prep school, two degrees from Harvard and four decades
of top jobs on Wall Street.
In an earlier era, Mr. James, who was an enthusiastic fund-raiser for
Hillary Clinton and is nearing the end of his professional career, might
have been considered for a juicy Washington job.

But instead, , Mr. James is following in the footsteps of Peter G. Peterson,

a founder of Blackstone who used his position and his checkbook to
warn publicly about the countrys financial frailties.

Pete is a role model, Mr. James said. He felt an obligation to not just
write big checks to charities but to further the public policy debate on big
issues. It is the right thing to do.

Their styles are different, though.

Mr. Peterson, a former secretary of commerce under President Nixon,

preferred to lecture from on high about the evils of debt and deficits. Mr.
James, a mergers and acquisitions banker at heart, opts for a dealmakers
approach, and his book is less a disquisition than a series of action plans
aimed at bringing Democrats and Republicans together.

At the root of why Americans have so little tucked away when retirement
comes along, Mr. James asserts, is that it is just too easy to spend today
instead of saving for tomorrow. Savers 401(k) plans are too easily tapped
into and even when they are left alone, their returns over the long term
suffer because of poor performance and steep fees charged by fund
managers.

And then there is the startling fact that close to 70 percent of retirees have
no employer-sponsored savings plan. Most of these people work in small
businesses, like restaurants and dry cleaners.

In their book, Mr. James and Ms. Ghilarducci propose that workers and
employers be compelled to contribute to a so-called guaranteed retirement
account, or G.R.A., which would be independently managed by an
investment firm or pension fund manager. Everyone would be required to
contribute, with existing retirement plans rolled into the new account.
Employers would also have to participate.

Compulsory saving and restrictions against account invasion would result

in a larger pool of savings, which in turn would generate higher returns in
the hands of professional managers, like a Fidelity or Vanguard, or an
existing state pension fund, the authors argue.
 On paper, it is a smart idea, given that it addresses the two main reasons
Americans are not saving more: impatience and the need for better
returns.

But what Mr. James is just now learning is that, given how polarized
politics have become of late, proposing a good idea can mean precious
little if there is no way to get both Democrats and Republicans to consider
it.

And the responses from both sides of the aisle have been no more than
polite.

How his ideas will fare under a Donald J. Trump presidency with a
Republican Congress is anyones guess.

It is a more natural sale for Democrats, Mr. James said. And on the
Republican side, they need to know that this is not an entitlement
program or a tax increase.

Which it is not. There is zero federal money involved, Mr. James said
with emphasis.

Mr. James has a theory, which he acknowledges borders on fantasy.

The real cause of the anger and frustration that this election season has
unleashed on the left and the right is not lack of jobs or stagnant
wages, Mr. James posits.

Rather, the common theme is a growing mass of white men with high
school educations who are worried about their futures because they are
getting older and have no savings. They ask: What happens if I get sick?
How am I going to take care of my 90-year-old mother with no money in
the bank?

So I am thinking that our retirement plan will address this sense of

anomie and worry that we are seeing right now, Mr. James said. And
that if we get enough bipartisan support, this could be one of those rare
bipartisan issues.

Think Your Retirement Plan Is Bad? Talk to a Teacher

Margaret Jusinski first got to know her investment broker through the
breakfasts he provided when he visited her public school in the leafy
suburbs of New Jersey, where she teaches middle-school children
computer coding and how to build robots made of Legos.
 After the bagels, muffins and coffee, the broker made his sales pitch and
Ms. Jusinski bought it. So did many of her colleagues.

The teachers only recently learned how much those meals actually cost
them.

Had she been able to choose a simpler, less expensive plan instead of the
brokers costly offering, Ms. Jusinski would have approximately 20
percent more in savings, according to an analysis performed for The New
York Times. One colleague would have a balance 50 percent fatter. The list
goes on.

It is a heartbreaking situation for everyone, said Ms. Jusinski, a mother

of two girls who turns 50 on Sunday. Especially for the staff members
who were looking to retire within the next few years.

Most Americans who save for retirement at work have 401(k) plans, which
are generally offered by companies and must by law provide a mix of
prudent investment options. But millions of Americans public school
teachers, clergy members, employees of religious institutions or
nonprofits, and some charities are not offered 401(k)s. Instead they
typically must rely on what are known as 403(b) plans, many of which are
more lightly regulated.

How Fees Can Affect Your Nest Egg

The total fees employees working in the public sector and for nonprofits pay in their
403(b) retirement plans can significantly reduce the amount they save over their
careers often by tens of thousands of dollars or more.

As a result, the people who do the most good in the world, spending their
careers helping others in exchange for modest paychecks, often get the
worst retirement plans. In fact, millions of people who save in 403(b)
plans may be losing nearly $10 billion each year in excessive investment
fees, according to a recent analysis by Aon, a retirement consultant.

Its a wealth transfer from those who dont know any better Main
Street to those who do: Wall Street, said Scott Dauenhauer, a financial
planner who works with public schoolteachers and as a consultant to
school plans. What makes me the most angry is that public school
employees are not protected the same as their private sector
counterparts.

Named for a section of the tax code, many 403(b) accounts are riddled
with complicated, expensive investment products that can cost their
owners tens of thousands of dollars, if not more, over their careers. The
403(b) accounts that many workers contribute to are not subject to the
more stringent federal rules and consumer protections that apply to
401(k) plans. In fact, of the $879 billion in total 403(b) assets, more than
half is not subject to federal retirement plan rules, according to Cerulli
Associates, a research firm.

Those assets also escaped tighter protections issued in April by the Obama
administration, which will require brokers to put the interests of
their customers first when handling retirement dollars. There is very
little, if any, oversight, so you often end up with conflicted advice, high
fees and low service, said Marcia Wagner, an employee benefits lawyer
who has been practicing for more than 30 years.

While some school districts and states have begun vetting plans for public
school employees, most teachers must still sort through a bewildering list
on their own. Instead of just one provider offering a selected range of low-
cost mutual funds which is typical in a 401(k) plan teachers and other
public school workers might see options from several large providers, each
with a dizzying array of prospective investments.

In some places, including California, Ohio, Texas and Washington, the

lists may run much longer because of state laws that require it. Public
school workers in California, for instance, have access to up to 59
providers and more than 220 investment products.

Often the providers are insurers like Valic, Voya, AXA and Lincoln
Financial. And while a 401(k) plan might offer a small collection of plain-
vanilla mutual funds that, say, track a major stock index or invest in
bonds, the investments in many 403(b) plans are typically held inside
annuities, which can be much more confusing.

For instance, many teachers are encouraged to invest in high-cost variable

annuities, typically explained in thick instruction manuals filled with
jargon. Buyers who later decide they want to move money into a lower-
cost investment vehicle often learn their savings are being held hostage:
Pay a surrender fee or the money must remain in the annuity.

Mark Eichenlaub, a seventh-grade language arts teacher who coaches

cross-country track in Flossmoor, Ill., decided to pay the fee, about 5
percent of his balance, just so that he could extricate himself from a
variable annuity sold by AXA, which subtracted more than 2.34 percent of
his balance each year. In contrast, large 401(k) plans charge less than half
a percent annually, according to BrightScope, a financial information
company.
In a relatively short time, his costly switch will pay for itself, said Mr.
Eichenlaub, who is 38. (After months of lobbying his district for a lower-
cost option, he persuaded school authorities to add one to their lineup this
year.)

Despite the high cost of many 403(b) accounts, they are likely to play an
increasingly important role paying for educators retirement. For one
thing, teachers in about a dozen states may not qualify for Social Security.
And while public schoolteachers often are offered decent pensions, many
of them do not work for the decades required to qualify for a full payout.
And pension formulas are becoming less generous for newer recruits.

The 64 million workers with 401(k) accounts are covered by the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, overseen by the Labor
Department. The law outlines minimum guidelines and protections for
workers and requires employers or plan overseers to act in the best
interests of participants.

But most assets in 403(b) accounts are invested in the murkier side of the
market, which is not covered by the federal law, known as Erisa. Many
hospitals and private colleges tend to hew more closely to Erisa standards,
but a series of recent lawsuits against prominent universities argue there
is still room for improvement.

New regulations from the Internal Revenue Service in 2009 helped tidy up
some 403(b) administrative details. For instance, employers offering
403(b) plans were required to create a document detailing how the plan
would be governed. But larger problems remained.

In many cases, basic information about costs isnt readily available online,
only through an agent, which can have its own problems.

Tracee Huffman, a 26-year-old who teaches seventh and eighth graders in

Norfolk, Va., became so fed up waiting for the representative to get back to
her it took more than six months that she educated herself about
costs and decided her personal individual retirement account was a better
deal. I have emailed the other vendors, but they always refused to
respond to my questions via email, Ms. Huffman said. They would prefer
I drive to meet with them when my question is simple: Do you have a
403(b) that has an expense ratio under 1.5 percent? If so, Im yours.

The teachers at Ms. Jusinskis school in New Jersey, which is in the

affluent Bergen County town of Ho-Ho-Kus, recently learned they were
paying more than that sometimes much more.
Outside their school on a sunny afternoon in early June, parents picked up
their children beneath a canopy of tall oak trees. And inside the school,
half a dozen teachers gathered in a former kindergarten classroom that
had a fireplace and bookcases with doors made of leaded glass.

Together, they assessed the collective damage to their 403(b) plans.

One of Ms. Jusinskis colleagues, Karen S., is a 62-year-old widow nearing

retirement who agreed to discuss her situation if her last name was not
used to protect her familys privacy. At the end of 2015 she would have had
an additional $113,000 in savings or nearly 50 percent more had she
not paid approximately $37,500 in commissions and various fees over the
previous eight years and had instead invested in a simpler mix of low-cost
stock and bond funds, according to an analysis performed by Mr.
Dauenhauer, the 403(b) consultant.

I am running around in my little Honda because someday I need to retire

and there is no Plan B, she said. Her husband died of brain cancer when
their three boys were 3, 5 and 7, leaving her to raise the children on her
own.

(Mr. Dauenhauer, who reviewed both her account and Ms. Jusinskis, had
no business relationship with the plans the teachers choose from.)

Ms. Jusinski paid more than $15,000 in fees and commissions over the
previous eight years on an $87,000 account. She would have had almost
$105,000 at the end of 2015 if she had been invested in a standard mix of
low-cost stock and bond funds, according to Mr. Dauenhauers analysis.

The teachers were each charged a fee of at least 2 percent of their savings
to manage the money, in addition to sales charges of up to 6 percent each
time they made a deposit, the analysis found. Moreover, the calculations
didnt include the expenses of the dozens of mutual funds they were
invested in, some of which exceeded 1 percent.

The Legend Group, the provider of the investments all these teachers hold,
last year fired Walter Marino, their broker, according to a spokesman for
the firm, who said his departure was unrelated to the investment fees. Mr.
Marino didnt return calls seeking comment on his departure from
Legend.

In August, after the teachers complained about their investments, Legend

sent them letters stating that the charges were consistent with the firms
policies. More recently, though, Legend met with them to seek more
information about how much money they thought they lost.
Diane Mardy, the Ho-Ho-Kus superintendent of schools, said she hoped
that a spotlight is put upon this issue so that more safeguards are put in
place for us all.

The same broker, Mr. Marino, is involved in a similar dispute about a 90-
minute drive east, in Copiague, N.Y.

At the local high school there, Valarie Williams, a 51-year-old speech

pathologist, met with Mr. Marino after receiving a notice in her school
mailbox saying that his firm, Legend, would visit to help teachers analyze
whether their retirement portfolios were on track. They brought snacks
and all of that, she recalled. In the end, Ms. Williams, who is divorced,
said she transferred about $170,000 to Legend in the spring of 2014.

Mr. Marino helped her fill out the paperwork at her home, where she lives
with two of her grown children, both disabled: a 27-year-old son with
Down syndrome and a 25-year-old daughter, blind and severely disabled,
whom she carries to her mothers house next door most mornings before
work.

But within months, she said, she felt something wasnt right, nor could she
make sense of her convoluted statements. She was still making
contributions, but her balance was always less than her original
investment. The market wasnt that bad, Ms. Williams said. I expected
normal fluctuations.

The broker told her that her account was highly managed and that she
had to be patient.

One day, when photocopying her Legend statements at school, another

teacher noticed and remarked, Oh, youre with Legend, too? That
teacher had a similar experience and word spread beyond the copy
room.

That teacher told another teacher, then all of a sudden people started
reaching out to me, Ms. Williams said.

Two years after transferring her money, she, along with some current and
former colleagues, are working with a lawyer to explore their options on
how to resolve their situation with the brokerage firm. Ms. Williamss
lawyers said the teachers were charged multiple types of fees on their
accounts, similar to what the teachers in New Jersey experienced.

In cases like that, I call it using somebodys money as the firms

proprietary account, said Jenice Malecki, Ms. Williamss securities
lawyer, who is also representing other employees at her school. The firm
takes all the profit and the customer gets nothing.

Joseph Kuo, the Legend Group spokesman, declined to comment on

whether it thought the teachers were charged excessive fees.

Legend was on both schools list of 403(b) providers, providing teachers

with a sense of security. When you tell your employees this is an
approved product, they automatically assume the district did some due
diligence on it, said Barbara Healy, a 403(b) consultant based in
Scottsdale, Ariz. And for the most part, the district does not pay any
attention.

Participants in retirement plans covered by Erisa, the federal law,

generally have the right to sue the plan overseer for failing to act in an
employees best interest. But many public school teachers can typically
resolve grievances only through arbitration, since most investment
providers mandate that disputes be settled that way.

The New Jersey teachers also turned to their local union for help, hoping
they could find a better program to put their money in. The union
representative recommended a sales agent affiliated with the retirement
program run by the National Education Association, a union with three
million members.

But the unions products werent much different from what the teachers
already had.

The N.E.A.s Member Benefits group, a subsidiary, exclusively endorses a

set of products from Security Benefit, a financial services company with
nearly $32 billion in total assets that creates fixed and variable annuities
and offers mutual funds. (The unions program for teachers receives at
least $2.7 million from Security Benefit each year, according to
regulatory filings, which it said it paid to operate the program.)

The products include an array of mutual funds, various annuities and

one lower-cost option in which investors can choose inexpensive index
funds without a brokers assistance. But most new money from school
employees is invested in the mutual funds sold by brokers, according to
Gary Phoebus, chief executive of N.E.A. Member Benefits.

Fees in that program range from 0.35 to 1.25 percent. But that doesnt
include another layer of expenses for the underlying investments, which
run from 0.59 to 2.11 percent, according to Security Benefit, and in some
cases additional sales or surrender charges
 For comparison, total costs at a typical large 401(k) generally fall under
0.5 percent.

Mr. Phoebus defended the program, saying it offered a wide variety of

options to meet the diverse needs and comfort levels of members. The
goal, he explained, was to balance fees while providing access to advice.

However, some employees of the union itself, as opposed to its subsidiary,

do receive a better deal. Many are offered a 401(k) retirement
plan managed by Vanguard, a mutual fund company known for its low
costs.

As for Ms. Jusinski, the technology teacher in New Jersey, she has wrested
back control of her retirement account, investing in the unions do-it-
yourself option. But she worries about her fellow teachers all over the
nation, still stuck in costly 403(b) plans.

So many are mismanaged, shady operations, she said. Its a crime.

Thinking Beyond Money in Retirement

After a career of working, scrimping and saving, many retirees are well
prepared financially to stop earning a living. But how do you find
meaning, identity and purpose in the remaining years of your life?

John and Kathryn Gee, both 57, recently engaged in this existential query.
They have worked hard at well-paying technology-related jobs, invested
diligently and are planning to retire soon. Having relocated to San Antonio
from Phoenix in 2010, they have already reached a sweet spot where they
have a bountiful nest egg. Yet they worry that something is missing.

We thought wed be retired and would be fat, dumb and happy at 55, Mr.
Gee said. We only talked about money. Then we started asking some
simple questions.

Embracing the guiding principles of life planning laid out by a financial

planner, George Kinder, the Gees asked themselves what they would do if
money wasnt an issue and they only had one day to a few years left to live.
The answers, which they are still contemplating, gave them a renewed
focus on what was most important to them.

What is it that can make me a better person? Ms. Gee asked herself after
a re-examination of their core values. How can we give back? Family
became more important.
Mr. Kinder, who has been espousing and refining life-planning programs
with his clients and in seminars for several decades, calls for a process that
involves self, family and community.

Who do I want to be? is a question that Mr. Kinder says his clients
should ask. What have I missed? Who did I not get to be? What an
incredible opportunity to have all of these things in front of you.

As with financial preparation, life planning evolves in stages. Mr. Kinder

says he walks clients through exploration of positive outcomes and goal
setting within a human setting of comfort and support.

If the process unfolds in a positive way, Mr. Kinder says, the ideal state is
one of the Hawaiian word aloha. The term does not simply mean hello or
goodbye, he says, but in the truest sense stands for the process of passing
a blessing from one person to another.

Mitch Anthony, author of The New Retirementality (Wiley, 2008), says

your self-evaluation should start with the question, What am I wired for?
which involves taking an inventory of who you are.

Mr. Anthonys principles are geared around ones aptitudes and having
active pursuits that involve the mind, body and spirit.

Translating that into concrete actions can be challenging. Retired

professionals may be able to continue to do what they were doing, but now
as part-timers or consultants. Others may be able to apply their analytic,
management or organizational skills in low-stress, time-flexible settings.
Still others may want to strike out in entirely new directions.

Its never an easy answer, Mr. Anthony says of self-discernment

in retirement. You need to take stock of things that resound with you
that stir you up.

Through Mr. Anthonys process of discovering engagement, it is possible

to isolate the activities that you are already doing or could be doing
that make you feel most alive, creative, happy and connected to others.

Finding a balance between the myriad components of our lives certainly

takes some adjustment.

Mary Zimmerman, a financial and life planner in the Phoenix area who
has worked with the Gees, said one of the most important goals she
discussed with them was to find your humanity and sanity.
Theres often so much anxiety in retirement, Ms. Zimmerman says.
How do we allow ourselves to be at ease? How can we be comfortable?
These questions lead into an exploration of what makes us tick and how
we can find our best selves.

By no means is this a seamless transition for most. The rough patches may
come early and often. Its hard to break the routine and inertia of a career.
You may have to become a lite version of your career-focused self to
bridge the gap.

Like many, Ms. Gee says that her self-esteem and identification were
intimately linked to her work, a common problem with retirees seeking a
new role. Some professionals find it unnervingly difficult not to be a
banker, doctor, lawyer or engineer anymore.

The myth of retirement is that you have to leave that all behind, Mr.
Anthony said. You dont. Once you shatter the conventions of a do-nothing
retirement, Mr. Anthony says, its like breaking through the gravity
barrier. Youre on the path to contentment.

Admittedly, seeking what Viktor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor who was a

renowned neurologist and psychiatrist, called the will to meaning is one
of the most challenging parts not just of retirement planning but of living
your life to the fullest. You dont have to do it alone, though. You can find a
coach, mentor or life planner.

Consider a certified life coach, who, like a planner, works one-on-one to

help you walk through a life plan Mr. Kinders organization, Kinder
Institute, also has a search engine to find life planners throughout the
world.

Rates for this service vary from as little as $200 to as much as $10,000 a
month for high-end executive coaches. Some retirees may have a clear
idea of how they want to define their lives while others may take months
to discern a path.

Certified financial planners may also provide this assistance in the course
of comprehensive hourly or flat-fee financial planning.

The universe of financial planners who have had specific life planning or
life coaching training, though, is small. To date, about 2,000 planners
have taken the Kinder Institutes training and 350 have qualified for the
registered life planner designation. Thats out of an industry of more than
74,000 professionals holding the certified financial planning certificate.
 Even if you find the process emotionally nettlesome most do you can
figure out life goals on your own and create your route for finding purpose
and meaning. One way to start is by asking if theres a need for your
service within your family or community.

You may spend time with relatives who need you in a caregiving or
educational role. Another approach is to cherry-pick some community
activities that you feel most comfortable with and that provide social
engagement as well. Others seek out social, environmental or political
causes or a nonprofit activity that revolves around doing good, not just
doing well.

Sometimes the quest for inner meaning may be right in front of you. For
Mr. Gee, it was family that called to him. He wanted to help a niece and
spend time with his mother, who is 86, infirm and living alone in his
native England. She could not relocate to the United States.

Lets be honest: Those pursuing the life-planning process tend to be

financially secure already.

You cant be nimble with life decisions if you are constantly worried that
market volatility will blister your investments. Thats why its important to
thoroughly vet your portfolio, estate plan and cash needs.

A certain level of comfort is almost a keystone for most people before

embarking on an existential exploration.

Once you cross that barrier, though, almost anything is possible.

Its not about being busy, Mr. Anthony said. Its about being engaged.

Facing Retirement, but Easing Your Way Out the Door

SEVEN years ago, Steve E. Norwitz, who was then a 61-year-old executive
at the Baltimore mutual fund group T. Rowe Price, proposed a scaled-
down work schedule that would reduce his duties.

I didnt figure it would go beyond two years, said Mr. Norwitz, who
started working at T. Rowe Price in 1977. In fact, 10 years ago, I thought
Id retire at 60.

Now 68, he is still at it. Instead of managing the media relations

department, as he once did, Mr. Norwitz now works on specific projects
and takes 13 weeks off a year. He accepted a 25 percent cut in pay in
exchange for more personal time to spend with his wife, a retired teacher
and tutor, and to attend cultural events and travel. Since then, they have
cruised the Rhine and visited places like Ecuador, China and Slovenia.

Like an increasing number of older Americans, Mr. Norwitz opted for a

phased retirement that scales back work over a period of years instead of
a cold-turkey withdrawal from the work force.

As many Americans enjoy greater longevity and a healthier old age, they
are seeking more flexibility in their work schedules. Many of them simply
want to stay connected to their workplace and colleagues while others are
seeking an improved work-life balance with more time for involvement
with their families and communities. Others need to work or have to build
up their nest eggs.

Few employers have formal programs, said Helen Friedman, director of

global work-force analytics and planning for Towers Watson, a human
resources consulting firm. Phased retirement can look quite different
across organizations, although the biggest challenge employers are trying
to address is simple: replacing people with critical skills.

Phased retirement may be offered in bits and pieces, like fewer hours or
off-site work. Nearly half of human resource professionals surveyed by the
Society for Human Resource Management, a trade organization, said they
offered reduced hours or part-time positions to older workers. About 40
percent said they hired retired employees as consultants or temporary
workers.

According to an AonHewitt/AARP survey published last year, roughly 80

percent of workers in their 50s or older said they would be interested in
the opportunity to stay in the work force in a more limited capacity past
their planned retirement date.

They are picking up in momentum, said Roselyn Feinsod, senior partner

in the retirement practice at the insurance and human resources firm
AonHewitt and an author of the AARP study. Its part of a broader
approach to offer flexibility in the workplace.

For workers who are winding down their careers, the opportunity to make
a gradual and productive departure has great appeal. Beyond the need to
sustain their income, many enjoy the immersion of work and the learning
and social opportunities it offers. And a tapered exit can help avoid some
of the tensions that may arise at home when plunging into full-time
retirement.
It helps to have outside interests and your spouses support, Mr. Norwitz
said. When I first broached the subject with my wife who had already
retired years before her immediate response was: O.K., but if you think
youre going to sit around here playing the piano all day you have another
think coming.

For employers, phased retirement not only helps them retain experienced
employees whose skill sets are not easily replaced, but also keeps valued
people around to help guide younger employees. It is costly to replace
experienced workers ranging from about $7,000 to $32,000, depending
on the industry the AonHewitt/AARP study found.

Since there is no standard template for phased retirement, those

considering the move can often customize their arrangement. One of the
many variations of phased retirement is leaving the full-time work force,
then re-entering on a project-specific or part-time basis, or in a specialized
role.

Mike Mouton, 71, a former petroleum engineer for Halliburton, the oil
field services company, left his company in 2009 when he was 65, only to
be asked back to serve in a recruitment role. These boomerang retirees
are often asked to perform jobs well suited to their experience, skills and
personality, although on a limited basis.

When Mr. Mouton returned to his new company role Halliburton was
expanding and needed new engineers he worked mostly from home for
about three years, then returned to full retirement.

When the company first contacted me after I retired the first time, I felt
there was a degree of boredom in my life, Mr. Mouton said. He was
playing golf several times a week at the time. They caught me at the right
time. It was an opportunity for me to stay in the game. It really felt like a
good fit. I also felt I was providing a service and a chance to renew
acquaintances.

So if you are interested in a phased retirement for yourself, how should

you proceed? Start by figuring out whether you can afford to live on a
reduced income.

If you want to cut back at 62, for example, you will be eligible to
receive Social Security, but at sharply reduced levels compared with the
disbursements upon retiring at 66, now considered the full retirement age.
A better move would be to postpone drawing Social Security as long as
possible. Social Security will give 8 percent more in payments for every
year after full retirement that you delay taking benefits, up to age 70,
 leading to a significantly larger income for the rest of your life. That is one
of the best insurance policies you can buy.

Also, you will not qualify for Medicare until you are 65, which could mean
facing higher health insurance costs depending on how your employer
handles your coverage during a phased retirement.

Every year you work, it adds two more years to your assets, said Kristi
Sullivan, a Denver-based certified financial planner who has advised her
father, Mr. Mouton. Its important to plan ahead, preferably five years in
advance. Whether you can do it depends upon the individual, their assets
and their health.

Talk with a trusted adviser like a financial planner or an accountant.

Consider asking for a computerized Monte Carlo simulation to see how
long your nest egg will hold up under different situations. If the numbers
still look good, then decide what you want from your employer.

How many hours do you want to work, and how often do you want to be in
the office? How much of a salary cut will you consider? Can you work
remotely? When do you want to be completely out of your companys
sphere?

Finally, you will need a yardstick to measure how well your new
retirement transition is working. Ms. Feinsod suggests that you fully
discuss with your employer the roles and skills required, measures of
success and a rate of comparable pay.

If you find a workable arrangement, which could require some fine tuning,
you may find that the flexibility offers a chance to balance work and
leisure well into your 60s, 70s or beyond, without going overboard on
either.

Nearing Retirement? Its Time to Be Creative

FOR Phyllis Edelman, 61, dog-walking was the answer.

For Ron Walker, it was postponing retirement until 68, while defying the
conventional wisdom to delay taking Social Security until age 70.

For others, it could be moving, taking in a boarder, seeking age-friendly

employers or turning a hobby into a business.

If ever there was a time for would-be retirees to get creative, it is now.
Many people approaching the traditional retirement age of 65 are looking
into a financial abyss: They have no pension, their savings are inadequate
and the job market, although not uniformly hostile to those over 50, is not
especially encouraging either. And they could live another 25 to 30 years,
maybe in good health if they are lucky.

So what can 50- or 60-somethings without trust funds or secret stashes of

cash do?

The first step, retirement experts say, is to face their financial situation
candidly, whatever it may be, and plan from there. Even if you havent
saved enough, they say, there are ways to improve your situation.

You are where you are in that journey, said Joe Ready, head of Wells
Fargo Institutional Retirement and Trust. Youve lost some of the value of
time. How do we optimize the money? One way is to work in your career
job a bit longer, for example, from 65 to 68, as Mr. Walker did.

I was waiting until my wife got closer to being able to draw Medicare,
said Mr. Walker, who will be 69 in September and left his job as a partner
in an insurance agency in Fort Worth just last year. His wife, Sandy, will
turn 64 the same month. When Mr. Walker retired, he sold his stock in the
agency, got a down payment and will receive monthly payments for six
years thereafter.

He had decided to take Social Security at 65, rather than wait until the
often-recommended 70. It wasnt worth delaying Social Security to me
because Im a little skeptical how long thats going to last. Id rather have
the extra money now when I can enjoy it.

A saver since he was in his 30s, Mr. Walker said he was still putting money
away, even as he and his wife spend some of their savings on travel.

Mr. Walkers decision to delay retirement is becoming typical. Of those in

their 60s, 82 percent plan to work past 65 or are already doing so, and of
those, 18 percent do not plan to retire at all, according to the May report,
Retirement Through the Ages: Expectations and Preparations of
American Workers, from the Transamerica Center for Retirement
Studies.

Among those in their 50s, 59 percent plan to work past 65 and, of those, 15
percent do not plan to retire.

People are very practical and will find a way to earn money to bridge
savings shortfalls, said Catherine Collinson, president of the
Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies.
But working longer is far from the only strategy to stretch dollars in the
years beyond 60.

Those who want to continue living in the same community can move to a
smaller space from a house to a townhouse or condominium or take
in a renter or find a housemate.

If that doesnt help, relocating might be the better answer. Though not for
everyone, this strategy requires an honest evaluation of your flexibility and
willingness to uproot, including a coolheaded assessment of the need for
proximity to family members, and an ability to trade old friends in for new
and to give up the familiar for the unknown.

A survey released in June, Best and worst cities to retire,

from Bankrate.com, a website that aims to help people get the most for
their money, ranks American cities based on seven factors including
cost of living, health care quality, taxes, crime rate, weather, well-being
and walkability.

Everyone has a different value system when theyre thinking of moving,

said Chris Kahn, Bankrate.coms research and statistics analyst. Cost of
living is a big issue. Pick the areas that are places that you like that also
have a lower cost of living.

When considering a move, even if your mortgage is paid off, you must
factor taxes into your budget. Look at the total tax burden, Mr. Kahn
said. You have to be thinking about the entire picture there. Taxes
include income, property and sales.

The 10 best places for retirement, according to the Bankrate.com survey,

are: the Phoenix metro area, including Mesa and Scottsdale; Arlington and
Alexandria, Va.; Prescott, Ariz.; Tucson; Des Moines; Denver (including
Aurora); Austin, Texas (including Round Rock); Cape Coral, Fla.
(including Ft. Myers); Colorado Springs; and Franklin, Tenn.

Other options are to postpone Social Security to get a larger lifetime

monthly check or to find a part-time job in retirement, which in some
cases can reduce benefits. Other people work longer in their career jobs to
ensure a more comfortable retirement or to cover the cost of health
insurance premiums before they or their spouses are eligible
for Medicare at 65.

Rather than think in terms of needing 80 percent of your preretirement

income during retirement, consider your lifestyle. With careful planning,
the percentage you need can shrink substantially. Look at your total
financial picture, Mr. Ready of Wells Fargo said. Figure your net worth,
assets and liabilities. If you go into retirement with little or no debt, itll be
easier to navigate, even if you havent saved as much as youd hoped to
accumulate.

Its not a one-time decision as you go along this retirement journey, Mr.
Ready said. Spending in retirement is not a straight line. Typically, people
spend more at the outset on travel and, in later years, more on health care.
He recommends to continually evaluate your financial situation.

What are my expenses? Mr. Ready said. You can back into a lifestyle that
you can afford, work longer, work part time to cover health care costs.

That is what many people facing traditional retirement age plan to do.

Get your debt under control by 65 so your expenses are going to be as

minimal as possible, said David J. Jackson, a certified financial
planner in Kansas City, Mo. If you have no debt, you dont need as much.

That includes mortgage debt, car payments and consumer debt, including
credit cards and department store credit cards, which can have interest
rates of 15 to 25 percent.

If they havent already, would-be retirees can find a financial planner who
is a fiduciary, that is, one who is required by law to make
recommendations that are in their best interest rather than just suitable
recommendations, said Scott Faust, a registered investment adviser with
First Command Financial Services, based in Fort Worth.

Beyond their credentials, good planners are ones with whom you feel you
can share your total financial situation. Each persons different, said
Robert Wesley Shannon, a certified financial planner based in the Fort
Worth area. Ask yourself, What is it you want to do? Whats your goal?
he said.

Thats how Phyllis Edelman determined her next step when a small
nonprofit in Bethesda, Md., where she had worked for more than 11 years,
eliminated her communications position two years ago.

It was quite daunting, Ms. Edelman said.

When she began looking for a new job, she realized that although she had
the skills, sitting in front of two computer screens, as she had for most of
her working life, was not what she wanted to do.
 I can do all of this, but do I want to get on the Metro every day? she
asked herself. Do I want to work a 40-hour workweek? So Ms. Edelman
took a job with DogOn Fitness, a dog-walking company.

She spends two to three hours a day Monday through Friday walking six
dogs that live in her suburban neighborhood. I like being outdoors after
all those years being in an office, she said. Its nice to make a little bit of
money. I think you have to think about what you really like to do.

While she doesnt rule out working in communications again or in some

other capacity, for now, she said, she likes the structure the work creates.
Its not full-time work, but it defines my day, she said. In addition, she is
president of her neighborhood association and has other community
activities.

More than seven in 10 preretirees say they want to work after their
primary careers have ended, according to a June 2014 Merrill Lynch study
conducted with Age Wave, a consulting firm on aging.

These are people who would like to work and stay engaged or need to
work and stay engaged, but want to do it on different terms, said Tim
Driver, founder of RetirementJobs.com, a website that lists jobs and
resources for workers 50 and older. The best strategy, he said, is to
winnow the age-unfriendly employers from the age-friendly
ones. RetirementJobs.com has an age-friendly employer program that
identifies organizations that it considers good places to work for older
employees.

Some turn a hobby into a job, said Scot Hanson, a certified financial
planner in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area. They work at a golf pro shop, a
bait and tackle shop or work as a ballpark usher. Theyre helping people,
and it gets a paycheck coming in, he said. They just need a little bit more
to carry them through and make it a little easier. They want to share what
theyve learned.

Retirement Reality Is Catching Up With Me

I am an idiot.

That, at least, is the impression I get from personal finance websites and
magazines and books. They all seem to say Im doing pretty much
everything wrong when it comes to my financial life, basically because I
dont pay that much attention to my finances.
Now, I understand that nobody buys a magazine that affirms our choices
and tells us we are in good shape. No parenting magazine could last long if
it didnt suggest that its advice will make the difference between raising a
future Ivy Leaguer and a basement-dwelling knucklehead. Money advice,
to be profitable to the advice giver, must start from the position that youll
go broke without this help. In publishing, sex may sell, but insecurity sells
even better.

In my case, they could be right. I wouldnt know, because as I said I

dont pay all that much attention to my finances. Like many of you, dear
readers, I am a pre-retirement worker of an economic class well above the
poverty line but well below the 1 percent. I set up a 401(k) when I get a job,
and set an automatic contribution, and then basically do my best to forget
its there. This set-it-and-forget-it approach served me well for several
decades of gainful employment, but lately my ignorance has been anything
but blissful. More and more, its all been gnawing at me, a kind of unease
that I cant block out. So I decided to take a hard look at where I stand.

Why has it taken until Im nearly 58 to open my eyes? My excuse is simple:

Numbers scare me. I am not alone in this. Scientists who study math
anxiety say that the anticipation of crunching numbers can lead to the
kind of agitation that, on a brain scan, looks a lot like the perception of
physical pain. As a reporter, I can be stirred to learn what I need to know
to cover numbers in science and business and other topics; if I dont,
somebody will fire me. (Incentive!) But Ive largely kept out of my own
business.

Math isnt my only problem. Im uncomfortable thinking about money.

And, lets face it, the future scares me silly. Actually, I find it difficult to
make choices of any kind; I agonize over buying a new pair of boots or a
coffee maker, endlessly shifting options and then regretting my decision in
a way that exasperates my wife, Jeanne. So Ive put off thinking about
retirement beyond that steady trickle of cash into my hands-off accounts.
Many people dont invest for retirement at all, according to a report by the
National Institute on Retirement Security. Some 45 percent of working-
age households have no retirement account assets, while the overall
national median retirement account balance is just $3,000.

Im better off than that, and in fact were pretty lucky compared with many
Americans. For one thing, I have always worked for companies that pay
reasonably well and provide pensions, which they have fully funded. Those
companies have also sponsored retirement plans for employees and
encouraged them to build 401(k) accounts, and I have. Also, Ive been able
to hold on to jobs over the years in a business thats seen plenty of layoffs.
Our household budgets have been tight, but aside from an ill-fated
apartment purchase in my 30s, our family hasnt suffered the kind of
financial setback or catastrophic illness that destroys many a familys nest
egg.

My wife and I are also compatibly cheap. Our kitchen does not have fancy
pots and pans, no thousand-dollar sets of Calphalon or Demeyere,
whatever that is. The dishes are mismatched, some dating from our college
days. Our cars are functional, and we drive them into the ground; weve
never been reluctant to tell our three children, We cant afford that. Still,
we struggled under their college loans until just last year, when we cleared
the balance sheet by selling our house and downsizing to a cheaper place.
Two are out of college, one to go.

We had breathing room, but I had no idea where we stood in terms of

being able to retire someday. Id all but stopped looking at the envelopes
from Vanguard after 2007, when my funds lost about 40 percent of their
value not an unusual dip, given the economic crisis and recession, but a
painful one. I knew that the accounts had bounced back, but hadnt been
tracking them closely and hadnt worked through whether they would be
part of a cushion for my wife and me in our golden years.

The gnawing convinced me at last that this was the year to get our finances
together. Maybe past time, if the numbers didnt come out right. And
while I hope to have many good years of productive work ahead, I also
have to think about retirement and plan for it to look at whether Im on
the right track for comfort in retirement or ruin, and to begin addressing
some of the other issues, including life insurance and a will, that Ive been
avoiding all these years.

Where to start? With an industry built around retirement planning, diving

in seemed like a good first step. But that choice led to more choices. How
do I find a retirement consultant? Those who work on commission might
be tempted to sell financial products that increase their incomes, not
mine. And those who charge a flat fee might try to keep things quick and
easy (for them) to ensure that their time is well spent. I had no intention of
being a quick hit on somebodys conveyor belt.

As it happens, the 401(k) accounts I built up at the three publications I

have worked for over the last 30 years are all under the same roof,
the mutual funds giant Vanguard. That promised to make things relatively
easy, and the company offers free counseling from a certified financial
planner to clients of employer-sponsored plans who are over 55.

So one night in January, I made the call to Vanguards 800 number. After
navigating the voice command system, I ended up talking to an upbeat guy
named Jeff, who told me that I could either set up an appointment for a
phone session with one of their certified financial planners, or I could get a
more thorough counseling session by first filling out a survey that would
give the planner a more holistic view of my financial picture before our
conversation. The result, he said, would be a personalized financial plan.

Filling out the survey takes about 45 minutes, he said.

As I hung up, Jeanne, sitting across the living room on the couch, asked,
Any luck?

Theyre going to send a 45-minute questionnaire, I said. We can fill it

out together.

Thrilling, she said.

I found the survey. The very first question stumped me. It asked the age I
plan to retire.

Well, see, this is part of the problem. These are precisely the questions Ive
been avoiding all these years! Jeanne and I had never discussed it. I love
my job journalism is the kind of career that calls for hard work, but it
rarely feels like work. So we were starting with a big, big question. (Jeanne
has worked part time for years, so her questions have less impact on our
retirement picture.)

We knew that Social Security kicks in at 62, but that you can earn more if
you hold out longer say, until 66. Medicare begins at 65. And after
hunting around online, it appeared that sticking with gainful employment
until 70 would lead to the biggest Social Security benefit. Jeanne, a
pragmatist, noted ominously, Your retirement isnt under your control,
entirely. My employer has a lot to say about it. But we could project a best
case, and decided that sticking it out to 70 would be the likeliest course to
set us up in terms of our investments, Social Security and pensions.

O.K. So we had an answer! So that was question No. 1? Jeanne asked.

Yes, I said.

She laughed. That was more than 45 minutes.

It was going to be a long night. The first answer had taken so long that the
Vanguard website had logged me out for inactivity. I went back in, entered
the answer. And soon came to an ever more difficult question: How long
do you expect to live?
Well, holy cow. Let me check my appointment book. We had moved
abruptly from economics to metaphysics.

Here, too, however, we decided to plan for a good outcome while

understanding that the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune could
make best estimates meaningless. Our four parents are still going strong
in their 80s. My father is 88 and still working; hed have laughed at the
idea of quitting at 70. So we again filled in some rather optimistic
estimates and then marched on through questions about whether I was
likely to sell stocks in a market downturn (no), whether I would invest in a
fund based on a casual conversation or tip (heck, no) and suchlike.

Then came another stumper: What percentage of our income would we

hope to receive in retirement? Another search of websites, and I saw that
many people look for about 70 or 80 percent of their working income in
retirement, assuming that they will live less expensively. So once again, I
plugged in a number in the range of somebody elses rule of thumb.

As Jeanne and I discussed these things, I realized we had never really

talked about whatever passed for my investment strategy. I offered to.
Jeanne said, My strategy is not to know your strategy.

Still, I did my best to express my amorphous thoughts on investing. I

explained that Id been skeptical of financial advice programs about hard-
core investing by gurus like Jim Cramer. I knew I was not the kind of guy
who could beat the market. Thats how I came up with my laissez-faire
approach. I had a hard time remembering how much of my income I had
assigned to the funds 14 years ago when I came to The Times. (After doing
some research, I discovered that it was 10 percent.)

Jeanne said, I approve. Which, after more than 40 years together, is nice
to hear.

Proceeding through the questionnaire, I then had to track down what we

could expect to receive from Social Security each month at age 70 a
pretty easy figure to find from ssa.gov and what my various pensions
might bring in. That process could not be handled from my easy chair, as I
had to ask former employers to come up with estimates. One would
answer during the course of a single phone call; the other took weeks to
calculate an estimate and send it by mail. Anticipating a slog, I decided Id
had enough for the night.

When I shut my laptop, four hours had passed from the time I had started
the survey, and I was far from done. But we were thinking about the right
questions at last.
The next day, Jeanne sent me an email mentioning a conversation shed
had with a co-worker who had asked a quality-of-life question. If you
wait until you are 70 to retire you might get a bigger payout, but will you
be in any condition to enjoy it?

I responded:

An excellent question. If 70 is the new 50, yes. If 70 is the old 70, no.

Our parents, as I said, had been very young 70-year-olds. It seemed like a
safe bet. But I decided to ask the counselor to look at the numbers under a
couple of different retirement ages.

Over the next few days, I finished the form. Soon after that, Vanguard
came back with a report generated from my answers. It said I should be
more heavily invested in bonds; considering my age, I had too much
money in stocks. Vanguard had been telling me that for a while, so this
advice was no surprise. But then I saw words that seemed to levitate off
the page:

Youre on track to meet your retirement goals.

It was a beautiful thing. If we continued the way we were going, if the

financial markets didnt collapse, if the magical fairies that govern
employment and health were good to us, we would make it. I was, frankly,
surprised. Jeanne was exultant. She said, We wont be eating cat food!

A week later, I had the conversation with the financial adviser, an upbeat
guy named Greg. We discussed how to get on what he somewhat
ominously called the glide path to a more balanced portfolio for
retirement. He explained that the allocation between stocks and bonds
mentioned in the report was, in fact, a big deal the most important one
you make as an investor, even bigger than deciding which funds we invest
in, since bonds help cushion your investments against stock market drops.
And he had some suggestions on Vanguard funds that could get us the
balance we need. He also explained what we could expect if we wanted to
retire in our 60s. His estimates put us a little closer to the margins, but
could, with a little luck, deliver us to comfort if not prosperity.

It felt good to be done.

But we werent, of course. This is only the beginning. We have plugged a

bunch of hypothetical numbers into a model and gotten a nice picture
back. Much is still left to chance. Every decision leads to others, and
opening one door leads on to more. We still dont have a will. We have to
 look at life insurance whether to go beyond the amount that my benefits
plan offers at low cost. A hard look at health insurance, long-term care
insurance and issues like medical directives and power of attorney are
ahead. Answering the next questions wont give us control over the future,
either, but they might offer a buffer against misfortune.

It isnt over. But then nothing ever is, until everything is.

For Millennials, Its Never Too Early to Save for Retirement

You have probably heard it yourself: the impression that millennials are
financial freewheelers. The theory goes that todays 20- or 30-somethings
spend with little regard for savings and even less regard for retiring.

Retirement planning experts say that this assumption isnt entirely

accurate though it is perennially true that most young adults dont make
retirement savings a financial priority. But, as the experts point out,
millennials are in an ideal position to get started, because whatever they
set aside will grow and accrue interest greatly over time.

The value of compounding means youll have to contribute less later,

said Maria Bruno, a senior investment strategist at Vanguard, the
investment management company. She recommends that people open
retirement accounts as early as they can that way, the savings have
more time to build and be reinvested. Eventually, the interest an account
accrues will begin to earn interest of its own.

The New York Times spoke to five people in the 20- to 35-year-old age
group, a small sample of millennial savers. Two experts from the
retirement division of Prudential Financial offered advice and feedback on
each persons profile. Though advice differed based on the individual
situation, advisers across the spectrum were consistent on two broader
points:

Young investors should take advantage of Roth retirement fund options.

Roth funds, which include individual retirement accounts and 401(k)s,
differ from traditional retirement accounts in that contributions are made
after tax; once money is invested, earnings and withdrawals are tax-free.

Younger workers should contribute at least as much as an employer is

willing to match in a 401(k) or similar program.

With this advice in mind, read a snapshot of millennials at various stages

of retirement planning.
Mr. LaCasse doesnt see himself jetting off to exotic destinations at the end
of his career, but he does hope to have some financial security and
independence. He makes about $52,000 a year and contributes 4 percent
of every paycheck to a 403(b) account a retirement account primarily
for teachers. His school does not match his contributions, but he did
receive an initial, one-time contribution of $1,200. He currently has about
$6,000 in a savings account he doesnt touch, and he puts away a little
from every paycheck.

Though he would like to save more, Mr. LaCasse worries that he is not in a
secure enough position to do so. Theres kind of a feeling of short term
versus long term, and unfortunately the short term comes first I need to
cover my day-to-day expenses, he said. The long term takes a major back
seat.

For one thing, student loan repayments (of nearly $500 a month)
represent about a fifth of his monthly expenses and hinder his ability to
squirrel away more.

THE ADVICE Stephanie Sherman, a certified financial planner at

Prudential, said that Mr. LaCasse might be able to restructure his student
loans to give himself more breathing room. If he has a great credit score,
he can refinance them and make the same payment and pay them off
quicker, or free up more money for savings, she said.

Mr. LaCasse said he had already considered refinancing and was thinking
about it more seriously after hearing Ms. Shermans advice. The process
seems so daunting, and it keeps getting pushed aside, he said. Now I feel
more motivated to do it.

If she is able to break into theater or film, Ms. Craven would like to keep
working for a lifetime. As an actor, Im going to want to tell stories and do
that as long as I can, she said.

Even so, she hopes by her late 60s or early 70s to prioritize family time
and traveling.

Though she has never had a job with retirement benefits, she would be
comfortable putting aside 5 to 10 percent of her $45,000 income on her
own. She already has $7,500 in savings, but not in a formal retirement
account. Her main concern is seasonal fluctuations in her salary that could
derail a long-term savings plan. Im in a very busy season for work right
now, so Im making more money, but once the tourists go away, itll be
back to scraping by, Ms. Craven said.
THE ADVICE Ms. Craven said she felt she wasnt doing enough to save for
retirement, but the experts saw things differently. Mollie sounds like she
has it all together, Ms. Sherman said, noting how much she already has in
savings. She didnt deny that seasonal income fluctuations were a
challenge, but said that there were many ways to plan around them.

She suggested that Ms. Craven find a financial adviser to develop a

personalized strategy and perhaps open an independent retirement
account. Ms. Sherman also explained that many people in the
entertainment field built retirement benefit credits through organizations
that they worked for, but that these benefits were not always well
advertised to contractors.

Ms. Craven said that she was fairly certain she had not accrued retirement
credits through her performances, but was interested in finding an adviser
and considering a formal retirement account. It does seem disheartening
that the savings account that I have just sits there and doesnt grow hardly
at all, maybe a cent every month or so, she said. Id love to put some of
that away and not touch it.

Although he has worked at his current company, Redwood Logistics, for

more than three years, Mr. Ruger has been hesitant to invest in its 401(k).
Its such a millennial thing, but I dont want to have to commit to a job,
he said.

His career goal is to wind up on Broadway. And while he does some

singing gigs on the side, the older he gets, the less likely he figures he is to
start a full-time acting career.

He doesnt have a definite vision for his retirement, either. If Im being

totally honest, I never saw myself as having that option, Mr. Ruger said.

He has a few thousand dollars in a checking account, but no specific

savings. He also has a lot of college debt. Were paying off these crazy
student loans with these crazy interest rates, Mr. Ruger said. Stuff that
requires money like houses and cars and retirement are not in the
cards. We can just pay off the interest on our student loans and our rent,
and work until we die.

Further on the topic of his companys 401(k), Mr. Ruger said he was
unsure how the plan worked and worried about losing his investment if he
ever left the job.
THE ADVICE Crystal Vacura, a retirement counselor at Prudential, said
that Mr. Rugers feelings were not uncommon: Many people are hesitant
to invest in a 401(k), for reasons like procrastination or confusion. She
pointed out to Mr. Ruger that 401(k) contributions could usually stay
invested in the original fund or could roll over into new accounts if he
switched employers or went freelance. She also suggested that Mr. Ruger
put aside all of the earnings from his singing gigs into a dedicated savings
account: If he is really not comfortable with a company-based 401(k), he
should consider opening an I.R.A., she said.

Mr. Ruger particularly liked Mrs. Vacuras suggestion of investing the

money he earned from singing, and said that if he had to choose between a
401(k) and an I.R.A., Id go with getting my act together and opening a
retirement account through my job, because they offer one, and its
ridiculous that I havent done that yet.

As a state employee, Ms. King is eligible to invest in the Ohio Public

Employees Retirement System, and she anticipates staying with her
employer for the duration. I hope to retire at some point my
expectation is, after 30 years of service, she said. Because I am working
for a public institution, 30 years is pretty much the standard.

She has been in her current role for only three years, but was able to start
contributing to Opers (the acronym for the Ohio retirement system) as a
student employee and already has $15,000 in her account. Though she has
no other formal savings, Ms. King owns a house and contributes 10
percent of her $39,200-a-year salary to the account, with the university
contributing an additional 14 percent. Ms. King is paying off student loans
but expects to be debt-free by the end of the winter, at which point she will
be able to diversify her savings plan and increase her contributions by as
much as 25 or 50 percent.

THE ADVICE Cherita certainly seems laser-focused on paying off her

student loans, Ms. Sherman said. She also seems very focused on
redirecting that to increasing her retirement savings. Ms. Sherman and
Ms. Vacura agreed that Ms. King was in a good position for retirement,
though they recommended that she open a separate rainy day savings
account.

Ms. King said the rainy day fund was her next priority after paying off her
student loans. And she was happy her efforts had won good reviews. Its
validating to hear that people who know about finance are saying Im on
the right track, she said.
Ms. Hamilton has been planning for her retirement since she was 17. I
took a class in high school, and they showed me the building of
compounding interest, she said.

That prompted her to get a weekend job and put her earnings into an
I.R.A., which has grown to about $30,000. She also has a separate 401(k)
through her employer, with a similar amount invested. I want to work
really hard now and save really hard so I can travel the world and not have
to worry about finances in retirement, Ms. Hamilton said.

Her husband is a strong partner in her savings plan. When they married
last year, they agreed to live on a single income and put the rest into
savings: They already have more than $100,000.

Ms. Hamilton is very reluctant to touch her primary income for anything
beyond basic necessities. When the time came to buy new furniture, she
got a weekend job at Restoration Hardware to cover the expense.

THE ADVICE Ms. Sherman of Prudential said that while Ms. Hamilton
would seem to be a model of thrift, she could be even more proactive,
perhaps by buying life insurance or opening a tax-diversified retirement
savings plan. Really start to address the things that could derail your
retirement, as youre a fabulous saver, she suggested.

Ms. Hamilton said that her personal financial adviser gave similar
feedback and that she was encouraged to be receiving such consistent
advice about reaching her goals. I may not make a million dollars a year,
but I feel like I can one day hopefully have a retirement thats
comparable, she said.