How have the rules of retirement changed over the past generation? I talked about the challenges to retirement security facing successive generations of retirees today with Emily Brandon of U.S. News & World report:

Individuals must now take more personal responsibility for their retirement finances, even as life expectancies increase and personal savings rates remain low. “Each succeeding generation is looking at a less secure retirement, with today’s seniors being the best off,” says Mark Miller, publisher of RetirementRevised.com and author of The Hard Times Guide to Retirement Security: Practical Strategies for Money, Work, and Living. “This has to do with everything from the decline of defined-benefit pensions to the diminution of Social Security and health benefits, not to mention the worst economy since the Great Depression.” Here are some key ways your retirement will be different from that of previous generations of retirees.

Read the full story here.

I talked with Forbes.com blogger Kerry Hannon recently about my concerns that Social Security could become the victim of deficit reduction efforts in Washington — and why the program doesn’t belong on the chopping block.

Read the interview here.

I spoke recently about The Hard Times Guide with journalist Jane Adler, who contributes to the Chicago Tribune on retirement and aging matters. The resulting Q&A interview covers the redefinition of the concept of retirement and retirement security, the importance of working longer, longevity risk and the special retirement challenges facing women.

Social Security isn’t headed for insolvency, despite all the negative headlines in the media. I sat down recently with Jill Schlesinger of CBS Moneywatch to talk about Social Security’s future, along with strategies for working longer and restoring the health of retirement portfolios.

I visited recently with Lauren Young at Reuters to talk about reinvention of retirement, working longer and the future of Social Security; here’s the video of that interview, along with a brief excerpt from The Hard Times Guide and a free download of the chapter on the financial impact of working a few additional years.

Older workers account for a rising percent of the workforce, CNN Money notes today, and the numbers are continued to head upward.

Mark Miller, author of The Hard Times Guide to Retirement Security, said boomers began viewing the retirement years differently well before the recession took hold. “Many were committed to staying engaged. … The whole idea of working longer, even for a handful of years, can be tremendously beneficial to your mental well being.”

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 22 percent of older workers will still be on the job in 2018. That lines up with recent research on the older labor force by economist Barry Bluestone. “We’re going to see a remarkable re-shaping of our labor force,” Bluestone says. “The rate of labor force participation by the 55-plus population is going to be much higher, and older workers will represent a much higher percentage of the overall workforce.”

It’s no secret that most Americans aren’t saving enough for retirement. I talked with SmartMoney.com this week about themes from The Hard Times Guide that can help you avoid the most common retirement planning mistakes – and close the saving gap.

How will baby boomers respond to the challenges of retirement in hard times? I discussed strategies for the economy this morning on First Business News, the nationally-syndicated early morning financial program, with host Beejal Patal.

We discussed recalibration of plans for working years, spending in retirement and getting more sources of guaranteed income.

I stayed up late last night to talk about The Hard Times Guide with Steve King and Johnnie Putman, a married duo who host a great overnight program on WGN Radio in Chicago. The interview ranged across a wide array of topics, including what young people need to do to plan for retirement, the importance of working longer, 50+ career strategies and the future of Social Security. Click here to listen to a podcast of the interview.

CBS Moneywatch.com blogger Steve Vernon zeroes in on The Hard Times Guide’s chapters on working longer, noting that staying at work past age 65 “is becoming standard retirement planning advice from many financial writers. . .”

One good source of inspiration and information for finding retirement work comes from a great book by Mark Miller: The Hard Times Guide to Retirement Security: Practical Strategies for Money, Work, and Living.

Mark devotes a number of chapters to finding work that offer realistic and appropriate tips for boomers. One table I particularly liked, distilled from a comprehensive report from the Urban Institute entitled Will Employers Want Aging Boomers?, showed 20 of the fastest-growing occupations with above average proportions of workers age 55 and older.

Steve is a former actuary who I’ve quoted frequently on issues related to longevity issues. He also has contributed a number of great guest articles to my RetirementRevised.com website.

Along with his regular posts at CBS Moneywatch.com, Steve heads up Rest of Life Communications, a firm devoted to no-nonsense retirement education. He publishes an especially useful free eNewsletter, to which you can subscribe here.