Delaying retirement

When lawmakers added a subsection to the tax code called the 401(k) more than three decades ago, they could not have imagined that this string of three numbers and a letter would become a fixture in the financial lexicon.

In many ways, things are looking up for America’s economy. After several years of roller-coaster-ish volatility, the Dow Jones industrial average has climbed to its highest level since the 2008 financial crisis. Economic growth, though not robust, has been gathering steam, and the unemployment rate has been inching downward, although fitfully.

The days when workers could count on a comfortable retirement after a lifetime of company devotion are a distant memory for most. Public pension funds across the country teeter on the edge of collapse, and the traditional company pensions that sustained previous generations through their golden years are fading into the sunset.

Stressed-out Americans over 50 wonder if they’re ever going to be able to retire. They worry that the Great Recession will have a lasting impact on their security.