Many retirees are finding their golden years tarnished by low returns on investments and smaller nest eggs than they’d hoped. Meanwhile, longer life spans, increased expenses —particularly rising health care costs — plus a volatile stock market and low interest rates on savings have baby boomers facing tough choices .

While seniors don’t necessarily have to give up trips to see the grandkids or spend afternoons clipping coupons before heading off to an early-bird special, eliminating some unnecessary expenses and keeping an eye out for ways to save can help keep precious dollars at home.

Not Your Parents’ Retirement

“This is the first generation that is experiencing multi-decade retirements, and this is happening in a world where the burden for retirement planning has shifted from corporate big brother and traditional defined benefit pension plans to each of us individually with a three-legged stool of Social Security, employer based/IRA type retirement savings and personal taxable savings,” said Manisha Thakor, CEO and founder of MoneyZen Wealth Management.

"That's a huge shift. It means you have to figure out how to make your retirement funds last much longer than previous generations, in the absence of fixed monthly pension to help define your budget for you," she said.

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