Every day thousands of Americans reach the age of 60. At one time, retirement meant an end to work, sport and other pursuits associated with being this side of 65 rather than the other side. Today, the average Boomer who retires is generally healthier and more active than almost any similar age group in modern history. Even more ironically, 71 years ago, in 1935 (the first year of Social Security), life expectancy was 63 years and consequently involved no funding problems. Today, the average life expectancy is 77 and rising.

In the future, people will live even longer, healthier lives. Many will be able to pursue their passions into ages that were once unthinkable. Today, the retired look at retirement as an opportunity to pursue their passions. But to fulfill dreams and enjoy those passions, some hard thinking has to go into providing the means to pay for them.

This Special Section on Finance offers some insights from our experts on how to go about finding the means. We offer some ideas about how the stock market works, the various ways to save and invest (including some ideas on how to catch up if you’ve left it a little late) and some of the ways to protect future income. We hope you find it useful.