Besides the Worsening Economy,

perhaps the reason many older people can't retire is because the maximum retirement benefit of Social Security isn't 65 or 66, it is SEVENTY. That's too goddamned old. The "full" benefit is supposedly at 66.

The age needs to be LOWERED to 62.

In the past year, plummeting home values and investment losses in retirement accounts have combined to make matters worse.

"We are clearly facing a retirement crisis -- one that will continue to grow as younger workers age," said the Center for Retirement Director Alicia H. Munnell, in a statement. "To overcome today's retirement challenges, people need help understanding financial topics so they can make reasonable financial choices throughout their lives."

To come up with the latest index results, the center used the Federal Reserve's 2007 Survey of Consumer Finances and factored in the $7 trillion decline in equity holdings and the $3 trillion drop in housing values during the past year.

Those two asset sources are key to providing workers with adequate retirement income today since most workers do not have an employer-provided pension plan. Instead, they must rely on their own savings and home equity.