For many people, putting together the resources needed for retirement is not simple. Take Eleanor, an 81-year-old who had worked for 20 years as a researcher for a nonprofit consulting firm. She raised two daughters and a son with her husband, who died in 1981. Since then, she has lived alone, most recently in a college town in Ohio, near one of her daughters.

About to retire at 63 in 1991, Eleanor needed to ensure that she had enough resources to support her for the rest of her life. She had worked long enough at her non-profit employer, which qualified her for a defined benefit plan. However, that plan by itself—which paid out  $500 per month every year–was too small to live on. Her late husband had a defined contribution plan from his work that is adjusted for inflation each year. But she knew that even these two pensions, plus social security payments from the government, were insufficient to support her and her serious interests.

Eleanor assessed her situation.  In addition to the pensions and social security mentioned above, she had regularly contributed to a 401(k) account partly matched by her company and an IRA (‘Individual Retirement Account’) she had opened earlier. An IRA provides tax breaks to individuals who save towards retirement. In addition, she had the value of her home. She decided to continue working part-time for a few years after retiring because she enjoyed the work and the additional money. Much of her financial plan was formulated in conjunction with an independent fee-only certified financial planner.

Eleanor is pleased with the choices she’s made. About five years ago, she sold her home to pay the entry fee for an apartment in a continuing care retirement community. In addition to her living space, the retirement community provides her a daily meal and light housekeeping, plus some coverage of medical costs not covered by Medicare or her secondary medical insurance.

An alert and healthy woman, Eleanor has managed her finances to enable her to live comfortably and travel both in the U.S. and around the world. Between her travels on business and with family, church and photo groups, she has covered all fifty states. A serious amateur photographer, she has traveled to Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands and Alaska and plans to spend about two weeks in Italy this coming year. In the past, she and her camera have spanned the globe from Bolivia to Mongolia to South Africa and the former Soviet Union.

Reported and written by Judy Scherer