May we be forced to rethink our retirement dreams

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Where do you start in enumerating the ills of the U.S. retirement system? The 40% pasting our nest eggs took in the financial meltdown comes top of mind, not only for the setback it has dealt individual retirement prospects but also for the flaws it exposed in the way we are planning and saving for our golden years.

Personal savings is just one leg of the traditional three-leg retirement stool that has been sawed off. Corporate pensions, which are the second foundation, have been disappearing for years, replaced by 401(k) and IRA-type accounts that we have not done a good job of protecting. And then there's Social Security, which still looks solid -- so long as you ignore the accounting gimmicks Congress has used to drain the trust fund, the fact that it is all that many Americans have in retirement and that, without changes, it will essentially be broke in 2037. (Medicare crosses that threshold in 2017.)

One obvious way we can cope with all this is to work longer and retire later, if at all, which, given increased life expectancies, seems natural. But finding work later in life and staying on the job until you're into your 70s isn't something American workplace culture has truly embraced yet.

One more obvious way we'll be forced to cope: a downsized retirement, where we'll live a lower-standard lifestyle to which we'll have to become accustomed. Not exactly what we dreamed of all these years.

-- assistant managing editor/personal finance

RETIREMENT

Retirements in peril: U.S. system is full of holes

The destructive effects of the financial crisis may be waning, but your retirement account won't soon forget. Savers lost 40% or more in the downturn -- a collective $2.1 trillion disappeared from 401(k) and IRA assets in 2008 alone -- and while the recent stock-market recovery may feel good, it's done little to stem a mounting crisis in the retirement system in the United States.

Rebuilding your retirement portfolio requires careful planning

Jo and Al Lineberry were expecting a smooth and stress-free retirement when life intervened.

Where the jobs are for older workers

Older workers' unemployment rate is lower than the national average, but it often takes them longer to find a job. Kerry Kiley, a regional manager at staffing firm Adecco, talks about which industries are hiring. Stacey Delo reports.

AUTOMOBILES

New-model-year cars to keep an eye on

The new year is already here as far as cars are concerned and the ball has dropped, taking the wraps of some promising new wheels.

Researchers aim to build a safe, 'aware' car

At MIT's AgeLab, researchers are focused on getting to know who's behind the wheel in their quest to build a safer car. They're studying the physical responses of drivers to figure out just how much they can handle while driving. Beckey Bright reports.

INVESTING

Knowing how a company uses or abuses cash can uncover cheap, safe stocks

Cash is king, and the cash on a company's books -- money coming in and going out -- is especially important nowadays given the pivotal juncture the stock market is at.

Cash flow is king

Investors are using risky measures to pick stocks, says Savita Subramanian, head of U.S. quantitative strategy at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch. She suggests looking at free cash flow -- money a business has after expenses have been paid.

Losing investors sue fund companies, and courts drop the ball

Horace Grant, a former professional basketball player, won a $1.46 million arbitration case against Morgan Keegan & Co. last week for losses related to mutual funds that made bad bets in subprime mortgage debt.

Don't get tripped up in your search for higher bond yields

The Federal Reserve's policy of driving interest rates down toward zero may have kept the financial system alive. But it is killing savers, and driving them to do desperate things.

Lessons of a bull market that never happened

Much of the financial news this month has revolved around the one-year anniversary of the Panic of 2008 -- the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the takeover of Merrill Lynch, the government's bailout of Wall Street. But there's another anniversary for investors. It is 10 years this weekend since the publication of "Dow 36,000: The New Strategy for Profiting From the Coming Rise in the Stock Market," a popular seller that became the poster child of 1990s stock-market hubris.

REAL ESTATE

Empire State Building races to energy efficiency

In 1931, the Empire State Building crowned a decades-long race to build the world's tallest skyscraper. Now its owners are at the forefront of a different type of race -- a race towards energy efficiency. Christina Jeng reports.

HEALTH CARE

Lack of insurance can kill you, but having it will cost you

It was another volatile week on the health-care front. News that this year's premium growth for job-based family coverage came in at a relatively moderate 5% was offset by dire forecasts of what an average policy will cost 10 years from now, assuming that the atypical pattern of slower growth we've seen in the last few years continues. Sen. Max Baucus finally released the Senate Finance Committee's health-reform bill, which disappointed many on both the political left and right even as they grudgingly agreed that it qualifies as progress. And a new study found that a whopping 45,000 Americans die every year because they lack health insurance, a number more than twice as high as the previous estimate from 2002.

Obama continues health-care push

Speaking about health-care reform on CBS's "Face the Nation," President Barack Obama said he is not interested in increasing the size of government and urged civility.

FAMILY FINANCE

Firearms, ammo see explosive sales growth

While a remarkable surge that began late last year is starting to ease, Americans' demand for firearms and ammunition -- driven largely by economic concerns and the fear of new regulations -- remains brisk as double-digit sales increases continue to fill the financial coffers of gun and ammo makers alike.