And that huge cut in your budget assumes that you have the good sense to die on the day you spend your last penny. The good news is that you're reading this article. At the very least, you've already taken the first step and started to think about your retirement needs. The bad news, if there is any, depends on how soon you plan to retire and how much you've already set aside. Most people know vaguely about the coming retirement crisis, but the problem is that not enough of them are doing anything about it.
Retirement seems so intangible and distant.
We have a natural human tendency to be optimistic. We may think that somebody else will be in trouble at retirement, but it surely won't be us. I'm sure I will manage to get by at retirement. No such luck. It is virtually impossible that your retirement income will exceed your current paycheck, and the only borrowing that you will likely be able to do is to get a reverse mortgage.