Hope is not a strategy, or so it’s been said. But hope seems to be the strategy for many American workers when it comes to their retirement plans. According to a just-released survey by the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, the retirement plan for most workers over 50 is to not retire or to continue to work well past retirement age. Working later in life can be a good strategy for a lot of great reasons. Working helps to pay the bills, obtain medical benefits and stay mentally alert and socially engaged; but for many people work as a “retirement plan” is not realistic. Last year, 17 percent of retirees planned to stop working between the ages of 60 and 64, but in fact more than twice that number actually did, according to Employee Benefits Research Institute. The reasons for the unplanned retirements varied and sometimes spanned multiple factors, but all were unexpected and unplanned. •42 percent cited health problems or disability. •34 percent cited layoffs or...