So what are your thoughts on the concept of retirement? A recent study by Charles Schwab and AgeWave titled, “Rethinking Retirement: Four American Generations Share Their Views on Life’s Third Act,” reached the following conclusions

• Fifty-two percent of respondents see retirement as an opportunity for a new, exciting chapter in life.

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First, the extreme bad news. On Tuesday last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed below 10,000 for the first time in two years, and that same day, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the largest U.S. mortgage-finance companies, lost more than a quarter of their market value, according to Bloomberg. Also, the S&P 500 Financials Index dropped 3%, closing at a level not seen since 1998 and capping its steepest-ever five-day retreat. And, to add insult to injury, Bloomberg reported that the global stock market decline has erased more than $13 trillion in market value since last October.

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