AARP survey warns us about retirement investments.

Byline: Jeff Brown

Remember those dreams of early retirement? Lots of us had them when stock prices were soaring in the late `90s.

And now? Well, as we complete what is likely to be the third consecutive year of stock losses, not as many of us plan to bail out of working life early. It begs the question: What should folks nearing retirement _ or already in it _ do to insulate against the kinds of losses many have suffered in the past three years?

A late-November, early-December telephone survey of 1,013 American workers between ages 50 and 70 found that one in five had postponed retirement plans because of investment losses in the past few years.

The survey was conducted for AARP, the nonprofit organization for older Americans, by the national survey firm International Communications Research.

Among those who had postponed retirement, only 31 percent now expect to retire before 65, compared to 72 percent before the market nosedive.

Over all, three-quarters of those questioned said stock losses had forced them to make a significant change in plans such as cutting their standard of living, postponing retirement or working part time in retirement.