How to Retire Well? Retire Later

MoneyWatch Editorial Director Eric Schurenberg describes one simple way you can save enough money for your retirement: work a little longer.

Let's be frank. You have a retirement problem. You hoped to retire in your early 60s, maybe your 50s, but you haven't saved enough. Even if you had, well, the stock market crash took care of that. But there is a fix, and a fairly elegant one. To retire well, retire later. Keep working. It takes surprisingly little time in the work force to make up a lot of ground. If instead of retiring at 62, for example, you worked until 66 and kept saving you could increase your retirement income by 35%. Just four years. And not counting social security. Now every year you delay retirement after age 62 you permanently increase your benefit from Uncle Sam by 8%. Only problem is saying you want to work longer doesn't mean you'll get to. Less than 25% of men between the age of 58 and 62 are working with the same employer they had at age 50. In 1983 nearly half of them, age discrimination, sure in part but it's also economics. On average, older workers are less productive and cost more than younger ones. That makes you a natural target for lay offs. So if you plan to say employed until you can really afford not to, start thinking as early as your 40s how you're going stay employable into your 60s. Get the training you need to stay relevant, and if your employer doesn't pay for it, get it on your own. This is your future, not your boss's. Mind your health, too. About a quarter of the workers who don't make it to age 60 are side-lined by poor health. And then make it abundantly clear that you plan to be in the game for a long time to come. Volunteer for new assignments, and let your boss know you want to be considered for promotions. Then reset your focus on a later retirement date and don't look back. In this economy, there are a lot worse things to have than a job.