CLARKONOMICS: The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College has found that a record number of Americans are in danger of impoverishment during the golden years. They simply aren't saving enough for retirement.
In the words of syndicated financial writer Humberto Cruz, they are "at risk" individuals -- though not in the usual sense of that term. The risk here has to do with missing out on a comfortable retirement. The alternative, of course, is having to work until you die or until you physically can't any longer.
Throughout human history, the notion of a comfortable life of leisure after retirement didn't really exist. But then we got into a "social contract" with our employers and our government. The typical person spent a lifetime working for one employer and was rewarded with a pension, plus Social Security.
Retirement, however, is no longer a guarantee. Most pensions have gone away and Social Security will do the same shortly. We must now provide for our own comfortable retirement, which comes back to the idea of self-reliance.
Yet only four in 10 of us participates in an employer's retirement plan by making contributions to a 401(k) or a similar account.
If you're employer doesn't offer such a plan, you should consider self-funding your own Roth IRA. One cheap way to start is by contributing $50/month to T. Rowe Price's Automatic Asset Builder program.
Need some help getting started? Clark offers simple steps to building a retirement portfolio in
his investing guide. 
