Last-Minute Retirement Planning

The best way to save for retirement is to diligently sock away dollars starting with your very first paycheck and stopping only once the champagne is served at your retirement party. Too bad it doesn't always work out that way.

On the road to a comfy retirement, many folks hit detours. Job loss, divorce, illness, disability — there are myriad reasons why distant goals like retirement are often put on hold, while more immediate ones, like paying the mortgage, take precedence. In fact, even without a catastrophic event, many family budgets are stretched so thin that saving for retirement is simply impossible.