Thinking of retiring? If pundits are right (and it certainly looks that way from here), the concept of 'retirement' has been put to rest — permanently. Take a look at the recent history of employee benefits. Pensions were the first to go. They relied on a continuous growth model that has since proved to be unsustainable. They were replaced by IRA's and 401K's. How are yours doing these days? At the same time, employers woke up to the fact that, with mushrooming costs for medical care, insurance companies were continuing to hike the cost of corporate health insurance. To survive, even the most generous of employers had no choice but to cut benefits, increase co-pays, and reduce the percentage of insurance costs they would assume . . . very often down to 0. Many cut out corporate medical coverage entirely. Of course, there's always Social Security and Medicare to fall back on . . . for now. And, incidentally, with what kind of life would those benefits provide you?

If you want my recommendation on the subject: forget about retiring. Regardless of whether you're currently employed, facing a layoff, or already 'semi-retired', there's a very high probability that there's yet another career in your future. Do you enjoy and want to continue in the career you currently have? Again, that's a nice thought, but chances are that's not going to be a viable option forever. Look behind you. What do you see? There's a hoard of younger, better-educated, more tech-savvy, cheaper applicants chasing after your job. If you're in a highly-paid career, it's also highly probable that the demographic of all those who are hungering to displace you from your position has changed enormously. Look carefully now! What do you see? That's right: they're mainly women.