I was reading the AARP Bulletin yesterday...yes, I am that old...and saw an article about people who have had to put their plans for an early retirement on hold. I would have expected the survey result that showed one in five people aged 55 to 64, and one in four aged 45 to 54 are delaying retirement because of the economic downturn, but it surprised me to learn that one in three of the younger group blamed falling home values for their decision, and 18% of those over 55 said the same.
Tumbling stock prices certainly erode most Americans' nest eggs, but a large number of older workers have relied on their home equity's continuing to rise. Instead, many are finding that this "safe harbor" when stocks fell in the early 1990's is now just as unreliable. A large number have also been caught up in the mortgage crisis and face major losses and even foreclosure.
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