How debt can crush your retirement dreams

Americans are increasingly entering their years of retirement carrying a heavy load of debt, said Susan Tompor at the Detroit Free Press. Sixty-eight percent of households headed by someone 55 or older now have outstanding loans, up dramatically from 53 percent two decades ago. Americans ages 60 to 69 now owe $2 trillion, including six times as much student loan debt as they had in 2004. The numbers have skyrocketed even though "the safety net of a pension and retiree health care from an...