saving for retirement

The average Gen Xer is on track to face $1,700 a month income gap in retirement. The average baby boomers will fall a whopping $2,100 a month short. Those may sound like insurmountable numbers, but don't throw in the towel yet.

Couples retiring this year can expect their medical bills throughout retirement to cost 4 percent more than those who retired a year ago, according to an annual projection released Wednesday by Fidelity Investments.

Recent government reports confirm that Social Security's finances are still falling apart, and apparently they're getting worse at an ever-faster pace. That shouldn't come as a surprise, and you need to prepare.

Generations of Americans are facing threadbare finances in retirement: Judging by what people say they expect to spend versus what they expect to take in, the disparity between income and expenses will be severe.

One in five Americans plans to retire before age 65, according to a new study, and they're not just the ultra-wealthy. There's hope for everyone to bail out of the daily grind before age 65, if they adopt the behaviors and attitudes of these savers.

In these tough times, why would anyone pass up money for nothing? Inquiring minds at FINRA want to know -- because many of us are. According to research by Aon Hewitt, nearly 30% of 401(k) participants are not contributing enough to scoop up their full employer match.

Joe did right by his mother in her declining years, but half a decade of expensive care for her has left the 53-year-old in a financially precarious position. Money and Happiness columnist Laura Rowley offers him a step-by-step plan to get out of debt and back on track for his own retirement.

The most powerful tool young investors have is time, because savings can grow exponentially over decades. A 23-year-old Californian asks how to get started and make the most of those years when her employer doesn't offer a retirement plan. DailyFinance's Laura Rowley shows her how to play the game.

Most married people look forward to enjoying their golden years together -- at least in theory. But sometimes, reality is more bleak. For a host of reasons, millions of us may enter retirement on our own, and a large fraction of divorced, never-married, and widowed Americans aren't doing enough to prepare for it.

The basic logic of saving for retirement is pretty straightforward: The more you sock away, the more you'll wind up with (all else being equal). But there are two other benefits to aggressive saving that many people overlook.