By Laura Hipshire
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

In a recent study of 2,500 people ages 45 through 64 published in AARP The Magazine, 71% admitted they are worried about having enough money for the retirement they envision.

The study also found that 56% believe they’ll  have a standard of living in retirement as good as or better than their parents had, and 59% of folks in the study admitted they hadn’t done any serious calculations about retirement, either independently or with a financial professional.

So while it appears most of us are worried about having enough money for retirement, more than half are waiting until the last minute to do some serious financial planning.

Alternative financial options
Many retirees at Henry Ford Village, a retirement community in Dearborn, say they aren’t worried about running out of money.

Take Richard Matica of Taylor, for example. In 2006, Matica was hopeful he would be able to move to Henry Ford Village. However, certain obstacles stood in his way.

“I was having huge problems with a builder at the time and problems with a flooding basement in my home,” Matica says. One day he noticed an ad in the paper announcing Henry Ford Village’s “Flexible Pricing Program” and decided to check it out.

The program applies to the community’s studio and one bedroom apartment homes.

“I wanted to move there, but I thought I’d have to wait,” says Matica, who was looking for a studio apartment to accommodate him and his dog, a Chihuahua named B.J.

The program offers retirees the option of making a smaller initial investment to secure their new apartment home with a slightly higher monthly fee.

“This was a real bargain for me, and I’m really comfortable here. It was a lot cheaper than I thought it would be, and I didn’t even have to touch any of my investments to move here,” Matica says.