WILL YOUR ZIP CODE AFFECT YOUR RETIREMENT PLANS? CAN YOU EXPECT SOCIAL SECURITY? THESE ARE KEY QUESTIONS RETIREES MUST ASK.

Whitman, who worked for the Social Security Administration and on Capitol Hill before landing at AARP, says the mission of her book was to “make aging easier.” She used personal experiences and spoke to experts and people across the country “to paint a picture for what it’s like to age in America.”  

Along with retirement income and longevity, Whitman explored what other factors can affect a person’s retirement and well-being as they get older. One of those factors is where a person lives. 

“Your ZIP code is just as important, if not more so, than your genetics,” she says. Housing is especially important in a person’s later years, when they may need long-term care. Whitman also looked into the difference between lifespan and healthspan, a measurement that takes into account not just the number of years lived, but the quality of those years. She wrote about cognitive decline, as well as what to expect during the later years of a person’s career, when they may be forced to stop working as a result of poor health or age discrimination. She touched on end-of-life planning, too. 

Whitman also included a chapter rich in policy, based on what she’s learned in her many years working in the field. “It is complicated to age well in America,” she says. “What do we need to do in the public and private sector to improve aging?”

Whitman spoke with MarketWatch about her new book, the obstacles to a secure retirement and what people can do at any age to prepare for the future. 

MarketWatch: What would you say is the biggest obstacle to a comfortable retirement? And how are people approaching or, hopefully, overcoming that obstacle these days? 

Debra Whitman: There are a lot of them, but I will talk about the financial obstacles, and the fact that only half of us have the ability to save for retirement through our employer. We all know it is hard to do on your own. Many have almost nothing saved, so we have a really big retirement crisis in this country, and we need to make it easier to save. One thing we’re doing here at AARP is getting states to set up what we call “work and save” — those are state-based retirement programs that pool money for workers whose employers don’t offer them a way to save, and give them a pathway to growing wealth.

Similarly, so many of us have financial shocks, so in addition to saving for the long term, we need to help people save for the short term. 

MarketWatch: People often say retirement today is nothing like it was for our parents and grandparents. How have you seen retirement change for Americans in the last few decades? 

Whitman: My father was in the Army and then worked for the government, and he was able to retire in his late 50s with a pension, a 401(k), retiree health benefits and then eventually Medicare. He had all of these programs to make it easier for him to be financially secure. I have been lucky — I have been saving most of my career and working for some organizations, like AARP, that have pensions. I will admit there were times in my career I wasn’t able to save, when my kids were little and I cut back my hours. I do not have quite as secure a retirement as my dad, but I have something. 

Then I look at my kids. Pension coverage went down, so my kids may not be able to count on a pension. They are very likely to not have retiree health unless they live in a state where they get laws passed. They will have a hard time saving for the future. 

Many have almost nothing saved, so we have a really big retirement crisis in this country, and we need to make it easier to save. — Debra Whitman, chief public policy officer at AARP and author of “The Second Fifty”

MarketWatch: Many people wonder about Social Security and whether it will be there for them when they retire. What do you think? And how can people plan for a future with or without it? 

Whitman: People should plan for it. I am confident that we will have a program that will last. What I am worried about is that I need to know how much my benefits will be, so the sooner we can tackle the long-term solvency of the program, the better.

We shouldn’t talk about Social Security as going bankrupt, because that is not what is happening. That’s what scares people. If it is bankrupt, there is no money to pay out. Even in 2034 [when the Social Security trust fund is expected to run out of money if Congress doesn’t act], there is enough money to pay out 80% of benefits. We need to shore up that last 20%, and get congressional and presidential action to do so. 

Read: Social Security: The $22.6 trillion issue the Harris-Trump debate totally ignored

MarketWatch: People also seem to be working longer and delaying retirement these days, and you mention ageism in the workplace. What are some ways older workers can combat age discrimination? 

Whitman: Working longer is good for workers, good for companies and good for the economy. It keeps our brains healthy for longer and provides more income, so you don’t need to touch retirement savings until later. For employers, having multigenerational workers together increases productivity — and firms that use a mix of older and younger workers actually do better.

For the economy, we know that having people in the workforce longer helps with economic growth and that the opposite, age discrimination, is a huge burden. My team estimated that just in 2018, age discrimination cost $850 billion in lost wages, salaries and taxes for the overall economy. 

But not everyone can work longer. Many of us, especially people in physically demanding jobs, can’t do that. We have to make sure we recognize that this is not a choice for everyone physically. It is also not a choice when it comes to age discrimination, when people want to work and need to work. Age discrimination is a huge drain on our economy, but it also pushes out a ton of talent. 

One thing people can do is retain their skills, make sure they are ready for the jobs out there, be honest about the gaps in years of work. I spoke to a woman who organized her father’s care, and when talking to her next employer, she talked about the skills of managing across multiple doctors, and the time management for all of his medications, and that strengthened her as a potential employee. Also, age-proofing resumes, such as taking off graduation years or focusing on more recent work experiences. 

MarketWatch: What would you say is the one thing someone should do right now — regardless of age — to ensure a secure retirement for themselves? 

Whitman: I will stick to the financial side. Make sure you are saving, starting from your first job, and taking advantage of any workplace benefits or matches. Make sure you have emergency savings, so you can avoid dipping into retirement savings, or getting penalties or losing interest had your money stayed in there. If your employer offers a plan, but even if not, have a little money taken out so you don’t see it — it’s a lot easier to save it. Lifelong learning and maintaining your skills and network are really important. Think of your next career move, because half of all people in their 50s will lose their jobs involuntarily, and many don’t realize it. You need to be prepared financially. 

This interview was edited for style and length.