Boston College Expert Authors New Book On Looming Retirement Crisis

Just 30 years ago, most American workers were able to stop working in their early sixties and enjoy a long and comfortable retirement. But that brief golden age of retirement is now over.

That's the way Alicia Munnell begins her latest book — a book she describes as similar Paul Revere's famous ride in 1775: she hopes it will raise the alarm.

What's changed is obvious: people are living longer. Social Security is replacing less pre-retirement income, and defined pension plans have been replaced by 401(k)s with modest balances. But Munnell says the scope of the problem is vast: soon, millions of Americans will realize that they're too old to work, haven't saved enough not to and have few people to turn to for help.

Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College and the co-author of a new book, "Falling Short: The Coming Retirement Crisis and What yo Do About It."

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