This is the eBook version of the printed book.

This Element is an excerpt from Save Your Retirement: What to Do If You Haven’t Saved Enough or If Your Investments Were Devastated by the Market Meltdown (9780137029006) by Frank Armstrong III and Paul B. Brown. Available in print and digital formats.

Evaluate the most powerful financial tool you have to protect your retirement security: working just a little longer.

When people in their 40s or 50s get serious about retirement planning, they’re often shocked and dismayed. First, they haven’t saved enough. They realize the $50,000 they’ve saved by age 50–and that is unfortunately typical–won’t go far after they retire. Second, they realize they don’t have many years to make up for lost time. They invariably base their projections on retiring at age 65. But why?