Linda Stern

Experts who have crunched the numbers on retiree medical cost estimates that factor in Medicare premiums, prescription drugs and the occasional illness project frightening bills – even for healthy individuals.

Usually, when people talk about someone "going through a stage" they are talking about a toddler or a teen. But there's another age at which people go through a key transitional period, also marked by angst and rebellion: Call it pre-retirement.

Will the baby boomers be the only generation to retire with 401(k) plans? It could happen.

Companies are shaking up their 401(k) retirement plans, trimming lists of mutual fund offerings and shaving the fees workers pay as they prepare for new federal rules that will put more plan information in front of employees.

Retirement planning almost always starts with one number: A guesstimate of the percentage of pre-retirement income you're expected to need after you retire. That's called the "replacement rate" and is often pegged by industry experts at around 80% of a household's earnings.

The longer you work, the better, retirement experts will tell you. Plow on until you're 70 and you'll make more, have fewer years of retirement to fund, and collect a fatter Social Security check. But that's not always desirable, or possible.

While workers can't do much when a stock market sell-off hits their 401(k) balances, they can speak up about poor investment choices and unreasonable plan fees. Now, more are taking those complaints to the courts as they bring lawsuits against employers they believe have allowed poorly-performing and overly-expensive funds into their retirement plans.

U.S. retirement programs could look different if a grand deficit-cutting bargain is struck in upcoming negotiations.

[IMGCAP(1)] WASHINGTON (Reuters) 8:13am EDT — Retirement programs could look different if a grand deficit-cutting bargain is struck in upcoming negotiations. On Thursday, the Senate Finance Committee will explore "Tax Reform Options: Promoting Retirement Security." Despite the sleepy title, the hearing will be one of the first outward signs of something that's been actively discussed privately all over this city in recent weeks and months: How to tweak retirement to make 401(k) plans more efficient, keep Social…

For decades, variable annuities have had a bad rap, dissed as fee-laden, overly expensive and "not bought but sold" to unsophisticated investors by commission-hungry brokers.

Here's the greatest challenge to retirement planning: You may live a very, very long time.

Our nation's retirement system is a hot topic. In addition to frequent surveys finding that Americans are ill-prepared and worried about retirement, there are statehouse disputes about whether public pensions are too fat.