USAToday looks at retirement issues this week.  Turning 62, The retirement boom begins.

Day 2...How will You Pay For Health Care?

In the past, retirees could often count on their employers to provide health insurance until Medicare kicked in, or sometimes even after they were eligible for Medicare. But in 2007, only a third of large employers offered retiree health insurance, down from 66% in 1988, according to a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research & Education Trust. Only 5% of employers with fewer than 200 employees offered retiree health insurance last year.

The millions who will retire early without company-provided health insurance may need to buy a health care policy to last them until Medicare kicks in at age 65. Unfortunately, individual policies for people in their 60s can be hugely expensive, with premiums topping $900 a month for family coverage. And those in poor health might be unable to find a policy at any price.

Day 3...Older Boomers Have Better Jobs And Benefits

401k, 403b, and 457 plans elective deferral amounts have not changed from 2007-you can defer up to $15,500 into each of these plans. The catch-up amount (above age 50) also stays the same at $5000.

The IRA limits will increase in 2008 to $5,000 for all IRA's.   The age 50 catch-up remains at $1,000.00.  So, someone age 50 or older can contribute $6,000 to their IRA account

2008 is off to a very rocky start.  I don't think it will be enjoyable to see IRA or 401k statements this month.  Seems like everyone is talking about a recession. 

The employment report last week proved that the U.S. economy entered its first recession since 2001, according to Merrill Lynch & Co.'s David Rosenberg.

"Friday's employment report confirmed our suspicions that the economy was transitioning into an official recession towards the end of last year," New York-based Rosenberg, North American economist at the world's biggest brokerage, wrote in a note dated Monday.

His comment came after U.S. investor Jim Rogers said in an interview that the U.S. is heading for a recession that will be the worst "in a while."

"It's going to be one of the worst recessions we've had in a while because we had so many excesses going into it," Rogers, chair of New York-based Rogers Holdings, said in an interview from Singapore.

Jonathan Cements of the Wall Street Journal turned 45 this week.  Happy birthday!  His Wednesday column in the Journal is extremely helpful with personal finance and retirement issues.  Turning 45, he wonders how big should his nest egg be?

Taking stock. Start with the accompanying table, which shows what percentage of pre-tax income you need to sock away over the next two decades, depending on how much you currently have saved.

Suppose you have a $240,000 portfolio, equal to three times your $80,000 annual income. To retire in comfort, you ought to save a manageable 12% of income every year for the next 20 years, calculates Charles Farrell, a financial adviser with Denver's Northstar Investment Advisors.

A new Met Life study looks at the first wave of boomers-those born in 1946.  Hey, they look sort of average.

RELATIONSHIPS                                                                       
The average 62-year-old American…
…is married to the same spouse, who is 60 years old.
…has 2.4 children over the age of 18, who are not living
at home.

FINANCES
The average member of the 1946 birth group…
…has an annual income of $71,400.
…has a household net worth, excluding home value,
of $257,800.
…has an average of six financial products/plans including 401(k)/403(b), IRA, health insurance, life insurance and CD/savings accounts.
If they do not already have investments such as stocks, bonds, annuities, or long-term care insurance they have few plans to purchase these in the next 12 months.
They have received or expect to receive some inheritance from their parents – typically in the range of $113,000
to $210,000.
Their home is currently worth $297,900.
They are aware that at age 62 they are eligible for a reverse mortgage, but typically are not planning to use a reverse mortgage for funding in their retirement. Should they use a reverse mortgage they would use the money to support their own aging and long-term care needs and pay down debt.
They do not have a professional financial advisor.

Met Life "Boomer" study. 

I know all the financial gurus will be making a 2008 forecast in the next couple of weeks.   Recession, oil prices, the dollar and the stock markets?

And, many of us will come up with our own financial and personal resolutions too.   Here's one prediction from Bankrate.com that will probably be accurate.  One of our best investment decisons-buying a home will probably require a down payment!

Buying? Bring a down payment
House prices are falling in many major markets. Your lender doesn't want to give you a big pile of money for a house that's going to be worth less than the loan balance in a few months. So your lender is going to want a cushion. The down payment is that cushion.

During the boom years, it was easy to buy a house with a down payment of 5 percent or 3 percent or even with no down payment at all. Those deals aren't as common anymore.

"I think we're going back to where 10 percent is going to be the standard for a down payment," says Mitch Ohlbaum, president of Legend Mortgage Corp., in Los Angeles.

Additional 2008 ARM and mortgage tips from Bankrate.com 

Here's a common question on contributing to your self-employed plan and an IRA.  We went to the irs.gov site for an answer.

Can a person make a contribution to a SEP-IRA and a Roth IRA, too?

Yes, you can make a contribution to a SEP-IRA and a Roth IRA. See Chapter 2 of Publication 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), for the requirements to contribute to a SEP and a Roth IRA. However, your SEP IRA contribution and Roth IRA contribution can not be made to the same IRA.