Who Says I Can't Retire?

The retirement industry has done a great job of selling the vision of what a financially successful retirement looks like and how much money you need to save to get there.

Fortunately, you did everything they recommended, right? You diligently contributed 10% to 15% of your pretax income every year to your company's 401(k) plan and made smart investment decisions. As a result, you amassed that $1.5 million nest egg you'll need, along with Social Security, to live in relative comfort for the next 30 years or so. Congratulations! You're free to travel the world. Or buy that sailboat the financial services industry seems to think all retirees want to own.

What? You say you didn't do all these things? And your nest egg is less than half of that $1.5 million holy grail? You're not alone.

Millions of Americans either didn't, or couldn't, do what experts told them to do. In fact, the average American Baby Boomer has saved about $152,000 for released in April. Does that mean that a comfortable retirement is permanently out of reach?