Family matters are often financial relationships as well. And for some readers, blood is simply thicker than retirement money.
One reader, Ms. Mills from North Carolina, says she borrowed from her 401(k) when her hours at work got cut back. She paid off credit cards, her car and a truck that her husband uses to tend to a small farm. It's helping keep the family afloat.
"We hope for the best because we are also helping support an elderly aunt. (We) help her with bills and send her food regularly," she says.
Mills says she has been doing a lot of praying lately, with hopes that things will work out eventually.
Becky of Indiana, who has 19 years' teaching experience and a master's degree, has been out of work for more than a year. "I cashed in both my 403(b) and my teachers' retirement. This is so that I can continue to meet expenses and take care of my dependent mother," she says.
Retirement? "I'm not really sure what I'm going to do about retirement right now."