Retirement

The housing market's continuing struggles have upset the retirement plans of millions of Americans, keeping more of them in their current homes, waiting for diminished equity to reappear. Others plan to move, but they appear to be demanding something much different from what they wanted before the real estate boom turned to bust: smaller, less expensive retirement houses they can afford with their reduced means. At the start of the financial crisis in the fall of 2008, economists weren't anticipating that the long-term trend toward retirement living would be derailed.

Liberation. Refinement. Or, perhaps, afterlife. Those are some alternatives to the word retirement posted on an Inquirer discussion board on the subject. Many age-conscious baby boomers don't like the R word, which, some argue, connotes disengagement from life. They prefer to call it the "next stage" or "second calling" or anything but "retirement. " So say experts. Some posts defended the word: "Retirement is my favorite word. I just wish it wasn't so far away.

In the first few years of the last decade, a lot of assumptions were made about aging baby boomers, their parents, their children, and their housing needs. Boomers would begin downsizing as soon as the children flew the coop, starting at about 55. Boomers would move to communities filled with their own kind. Elderly parents would be accommodated in a casita — a part of the house — until they needed continuing care. The casita would then be converted to a crafts room.

Like teenagers seeking concert tickets, about 50 senior citizens camped out last weekend waiting to buy lots in Middlesex County's newest "active adult community. " They were interested in the indoor and outdoor pools, golf course, 25 hobby clubs and 24-hour on-site nursing care. Do you or have you ever considered living in a adult-only retirement community? How did you make your decision? Send responses to Community Voices/Retirement at the address in the Where to Write box above.

Shuttle retirement lamented I recall President John F. Kennedy stating our country had the capacity, drive, and intelligence to put a "man on the moon. " I also witnessed the event come to fruition on television as my heart raced with pride. What a brilliant step in world history, to see astronaut Buzz Aldrin walking on the moon. Last week, however, I witnessed the space shuttle being flown piggyback over Washington on a Boeing 747 as it was retired from service, ending our manned space program.

On Friday, July 20, it will be 20 years and one week to the day, and Hugh J. McElwee says he's right on schedule. "I decided about two years ago when I'd retire," said McElwee, the leprechaun who has been the municipal clerk in Burlington Township for two decades. "I wanted to complete 20 years. " McElwee, who was 71 in April, has been the right arm of the Township Council since 1970, when he did "an odd sort of thing" and got into a line of work he had never tried before - municipal government.

In his 23-year run as president of Philadelphia University, James P. Gallagher presided over nothing short of a transformation. Enrollment nearly doubled. So did the campus acreage. Applications grew fourfold. What was once a textile and science college became a university, with new academic programs. Up went several recreational and academic buildings, and a virtually nonexistent endowment reached nearly $30 million. So perhaps it's fitting that, in his final months, the 66-year-old native West Philadelphian - who recently emerged as one of the most highly compensated college presidents in the country - has decided to focus on the finer points of collegiate management.

Cam Neely, the Boston Bruins' hard-hitting, high-scoring forward, tearfully announced his retirement yesterday because of a degenerative hip condition. Doctors determined that his hip problem cannot be corrected through rehabilitation or surgery. Neely's retirement was expected ever since he missed the last 25 games of the 1995-96 season with the hip injury. Neely, 31, was a first-round draft pick by the Vancouver Canucks in 1983, and was traded to Boston in 1986. He went on to redefine the forward position, posting up in the slot like a basketball center, waiting for a pass while defenders tried in vain to move him away.

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - Pedro Martinez has virtually ruled out a return to the major leagues and says he is on his way to retirement. The three-time Cy Young Award winner gave an interview that was broadcast yesterday in the Dominican Republic. "I keep active because I have not announced my retirement, because that is something that takes time and you have to plan it. Plus, it is something that the Dominican people expected," Martinez said. Martinez, 38, has not pitched in the majors since the 2009 World Series with the Phillies.

Carl Ciglar, a former police lieutenant who got into politics and jumped to a top job with the Philadelphia Parking Authority, will retire next year with a six-figure pension and a $522,183 payment from the city's deferred-retirement program, known as DROP. The Parking Authority's executive director, Vincent J. Fenerty Jr., said Monday that Ciglar and another senior aide, Linda J. Miller, would retire in 2013 and be replaced by two other veterans at the parking agency, Corinne M. O'Connor, now the director of on-street parking, and Richard D. Dickson, the authority's senior planning director.

When Mike Aviles smacked the third pitch Cliff Lee threw Sunday, he had done something no Red Sox hitter had accomplished in 99 years. Aviles had bashed leadoff home runs on two consecutive days to ignite Boston's offensive explosions. In 1913, a man named Harry Hooper did the same thing. Upon his retirement from baseball, he campaigned for Franklin D. Roosevelt and was named postmaster of Capitola, Calif. No, it has not been that long since Lee has won a game, but it's beginning to feel like it. After a 5-1 drubbing by the Red Sox, Lee is winless through his first six starts of a season for the first time in his career.

Are you expecting too much, or too little, out of whatever retirement you'll have? There's no guarantee, of course, but everyone should do some planning and these sites can guide the way. "Oh, no! I forgot to save for retirement," says the headline here. About.com's retirement planning site has links to articles about understanding retirement accounts, how to deal with old 401(k) accounts when you change jobs, and different ways to think about what your financial, housing and other needs will be when and if you retire.

BOSTON — Couples retiring this year can expect their medical bills throughout retirement to cost 4 percent more than those who retired a year ago, according to an annual projection released this month by Fidelity Investments. The estimated $240,000 that a newly retired couple will need to cover health-care expenses reflects the typical pattern of projected annual increases. The Boston-based company cut the estimate for the first time last year, citing President Obama's health-care overhaul.

For those who swear by "sell in May and go away," what mantra were they chanting after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008? "Sell after Lehman and never jump in again"? Those nervous days still seem so fresh to me. I fielded many calls from readers worried that once-fat retirement nest eggs in IRAs or 401(k) plans might never hatch. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index, which many use as a proxy for the whole U.S. equity market, fell 38 percent in 2008. For many working people who had diligently deferred salary to retirement savings vehicles, the swoon manifested itself in the decline in value of their accounts.

INDEX Business. . . A10 Comics. . . C4 Lotteries. . . E12 Marketplace. . . D1 Movies. . . C2 Nation/World. . . A2 Obituaries. . . B4 Opinion. . . A9 Rally. . . E10 SideShow. . . C2 Television. . . C5

Edwin C. Donaghy Jr. chose a usually cautious career, dealing with trust investments. But in World War II, he took far riskier assignments. Piloting P-47 Thunderbolt single-engine fighter planes, he survived 37 missions flying over Europe. "Heavy combat; never shot down, thank goodness," his wife, Sophie, said in a Thursday interview. Mr. Donaghy, 88, of Bryn Mawr, who retired in 1993 as vice president in the investment management division of the trust department of PNC Bank, died Monday, May 7, of pulmonary disease at Bryn Mawr Hospital.

Q. My mother recently moved to a nice, affordable retirement community. She would like to make me a gift of $13,000 per year tax-free for the next three or four years so that she can share my inheritance with me while she is still alive. I appreciate this, and it sure will help in our present economic situation. She is fearful that her retirement community is like Big Brother and watching every withdrawal she makes. She has more than enough money to last her through her lifetime, and she's not a crazy spender.

DEAR ABBY: "Searching for ‘Me' in Texas" is not alone! A wave of 78 million baby boomers will soon leave 30-plus-year careers and are looking forward to an estimated 20 more years of life. A vast majority of them are looking for meaningful opportunities for the second half of their lives. "Searching" should seek out a nonprofit organization for a cause she's passionate about and offer her skilled services. If "Searching" doesn't need an income, she can volunteer. Finally, instead of seeking a graduate degree, she could look at her local community college and find noncredit classes that interest her and participate without the pressure of credited course work.

FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR. hinted at retirement after beating Miguel Cotto by unanimous decision in a bruising fight Saturday in Las Vegas. "I don't know where we're going to go from here because we basically have fought everybody in this sport," Mayweather said. "I don't have to fight if I don't want to. " One opponent he hasn't fought, Manny Pacquiao, will be in Vegas on June 9 to fight Timothy Bradley . "The Pacquiao-Mayweather fight is not going to happen," Mayweather said.