THUMBS DOWN: Early Retirement Nixed

According to a survey byAARP, the senior advocacygroup, 20% of older Americanshave pushed their retirementdate farther into the futurebecause of stock market lossesover the past 2 years. The survey,which polled Americans betweenages 50 and 70 whoowned stocks, showed that only23% have escaped with theirportfolios intact. One in 4 lostbetween 25% and 50% of theirinvestments, and another 37%lost between 10% and 25%. Theimpact of those losses on retirementplans has been dramatic.Among those who said theywere postponing their retirement,72% had hoped to retirebefore age 65; now two thirds ofthem say they don't think they'llretire until after age 65.