Corporate companies like GM are reneging or defaulting on their retiree benefit payments. The trend is slowly spreading throughout the economy, and the situation now is that seniors and retirees can no longer rely on employers to help pay health care premiums and other bills. Thus, seniors are now faced with the daunting prospect of reevaluating their savings, investments and calculating whether it will be sufficient to outlast their lifespans.

To further complicate the issue, the health care and financial investment product and service sectors are in turmoil, with new legislation from Congress, rising costs and the predicted wave of baby boomer retirements.

To help seniors navigate the tricky terrain of setting up and recalibrating investment portfolios and extending resources to meet rising costs, we present in this section articles detailing specific areas including tax benefits, withdrawals and distributions, advance directives, long term care issues, insurance, estate planning and selecting care givers.