By Jeff Westover

Experts say that the advances in medical technology will prolong lives-and postpone retirement. According to the 2000 Retirement Survey from the Society of Human Resource Management a man retiring today can expect to live to age 81, women-to age 84.

But within just a few decades, projections for life expectancy call for people living to age 100 to be far more common than it is today. And that means the workers of today that will benefit from such technology are preparing for far too short of a retirement period.

But what is most surprising in this age of stock options and broad awareness of investing is how few people are actually saving at a pace that would sustain them after giving up full time careers. More than four in ten full time workers have accumulated less than $50,000 towards retirement and over 10 percent have saved nothing at all.

~ Lights Are On, But Nobody's Home ~

Retirement is a relatively late 20th century idea anyway.

A worker from the year 1900 could expect to live into his 70s and would likely work most of that time. If age or medical conditions warranted removal from the workforce, the network of family and grown children was expected to provide. The societal standards of the time did not provide for modern ideas of Social Security or 401k plans.

But experts warn of a time in the next 30 years where the crisis of elder care will reach epic proportions. Families of the late 20th century are nowhere near the size they once were. And standards have changed within society to the point that caring for the elderly will fall to institutions because families either do not exist or are not organized to handle the need from within.

~ A New Perk: Adult Day Care ~

Employers even today see and deal with this growing problem. According to a recent Hewitt Associates survey, eldercare benefits have increased 100 percent in the last six years. These benefits include resource and referral services, long-term care insurance, counseling and adult day care.

Nevertheless the demands of being a caregiver and a full time worker strain those managing a career. According to a MarketFacts study in May 2000, 70 percent of caregivers who work full time give up personal time, 55 percent sacrifice time with friends, more than half shirk home responsibilities and six in ten take time away from spouses, children and family.

No matter how great or small the demands of individual circumstances, eldercare is affecting job performance too. Over half of those surveyed reported missing time at work due to their situation and nearly a quarter had lost pay or suffered a reduction in working hours to meet the needs of their retired family.

~ What to do About It ~

Retirement looks to be a long ways off for workers in their 20s or 30s. But a dependence upon existing government programs or even employer-sponsored plans is a recipe for disaster. Retirement is more than just money, and it includes the care of more than just one. Here are some things to consider:

- Confirm the trends. Make it a discipline to study current events and legislation that impact retiring workers, savings and health and elder care. Be aware of what is going on.

- Plan for more than just money. Money will buy a lot but without advance plans it clearly will not buy space in eldercare facilities of the future. The time to establish relationships for care in that time of your life is now.

- Meet with family and children to discuss what can be done. Work with attorneys and investment counselors in developing a strategy to boost retirement savings and to stretch retire fund disbursement.