Baby Boomers Reach Retirement Age

Today, there is a trend to work past the traditional retirement age of 65. Life expectancy is rising and baby boomers are challenging the traditional views of retirement. There are those who will stay at their current jobs and others who will look for new challenges.

We want to continue taking an active part of society and use our knowledge and experience to start new careers and develop new interests. Some are choosing to slow down, working part time and taking advantage of more leisure time, but fewer boomers are electing to stop working completely.

Many baby boomers cannot retire

Many of us cannot retire due to financial reasons:

No adequate savings.
Value of pension plans dropped.
Home value plummeted.
The rising cost of health care.

What are the alternatives?

Continue working
If you enjoy what you're doing, keep on doing it. If you don't, find something else. Learn a new profession. Find a way to earn money from something you're really good at. Start a small business. Start your own website , promoting your knowledge or a product.
Cut down on expenses.
Downsize your car. Downsize your house or rent out a room. Eat out less. Cut down on your Cable. Pay off debts so that you have less to worry in later years.
Invest wisely
In today's economy it is hard to know how to invest wisely.
"Safe Investments" such as Savings Accounts, Certificates of Deposit and Treasury Bills are considered very safe, but the rate of return is very low.
Investing in rental property – Rental real estate can be profitable and safe. Real estate prices are very low and so are interest rates. That, combined with a high demand for rentals, makes investing in rental property an investment well worth looking into. In some cases, the property can be used later on as a retirement home.

Before you make any investment, educate yourself. There's a great deal of information on the internet. Take an investment class. You might want to talk to a financial adviser, but be sure to discuss his fees beforehand.
No matter what you do, ask questions and get clear answers. Below are a couple of helpful sites on investing and retirement:
Consider retiring to a place with lower living expenses.