Retirement strategies
By Bankrate.com

Plan for your retirement
For many of us, this decade is the last mile before the retirement finish line. A realistic estimate of how much income you'll need during retirement is key to a successful retirement plan -- and comfortable retirement years.

Links:
Retirement basics, Calculating your retirement, What's your savings personality?, 15 years from retirement -- No joke: It's time to pay off debts and save, Five steps to early retirement, Tips for latecomers to retirement savings accounts, Finding missing pension benefits, 401(k) blackout notices

Retirement savings strategies
Thanks to the wonders of medicine we are living longer. That means, your retirement accounts need to be healthy, too. Shift your savings allotment into high gear and take a more conservative approach in your investment strategies.

Links:
Saving: Savings strategies that grow on you, 15 must-know savings terms, Savings options from short- to long-term, Take charge of your retirement accounts, How to ladder a CD portfolio, CD strategies in a downtrodden environment, Check your brokerage when looking for CDs, 8 steps to a healthy 401(k), Maximize a new retirement savings tax credit

Investing: Checking out your investment plan, How healthy is your company's pension plan, What is asset allocation?, Annuities: Bad reputation, great sales, 7 things to do when the Dow's in the dumps, Alternative investments in a volatile stock market, Calculator: What will it take to reach your investment goal?, Match or no match, keep your 401(k), ABCs of mutual-fund share classes

Boost your IRA contributions
When you reach the half-century mark, you can reward yourself by making larger contributions to your individual retirement account. Your contribution limit is $3,500 or your taxable compensation -- that is, money earned -- whichever is the smaller. If you are married and your spouse is also over 50, you may contribute $3,500 each. If only one spouse is 50 years or older, the limit is $6,500. These limits are good through 2004.

Links:
The ABCs of IRAs, Is a Roth IRA the right account for you?, Roth IRA tax rules, Traditional IRAs make tax sense for some filers, Putting real estate in an IRA, Savings bonds in an IRA