Another positive note I found in the survey is that 45 percent of respondents said they think of retirement as a time to give back to their family and community. The Schwab press release about the survey said this might be because people see a gap of potentially productive years between retirement age, which is defined by survey respondents as 63, and "old age," which is perceived to start around age 75.

"People who view retirement as a time to give back are more likely to believe they will stay youthful longer and that success is about having loving family and friends," the Schwab release said.

That is a great sentiment. I spend a lot of time talking about numbers and calculations and money in this column, but if people aren't going to enjoy life and give to their families and friends, what's the point of running the rat race every day in an attempt to save for retirement? Without those non-numerical factors in life, all of the retirement calculations you do just won't add up.

Giving something back, I think, is a part of retirement planning that will be good for everyone, regardless of generation. And I hope we all take that to heart.

If you have a financial question, send it to gkratz@desnews.com or to the Deseret News, P.O. Box 1257, Salt Lake City, UT 84110.

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E-mail: gkratz@desnews.com