Oh no! The car quit on the way to work and your told you need anengine replacement. Labor cost are $65-$120 per hour and theytell you it will take about 18 hours to replace the engine. Youwill be without your car all week.

You do the math. Your income has not allowed you to build anysavings. You most likely will need to visit a loan company forthe money to have your car fixed and in doing so, you increasethe demands on your very meager budget.

So you take an extra job to carry you through the rough timeahead.

How are you, in this situation, even consider retirement? Itwill never happen! If you cannot make it work now, SocialSecurity will not work either. You must continue to work.

I mentioned greed above. The most current example of this is thereport of medicine cost world wide compared to what we pay forthe same product, same manufacture, here in the US. The majornetworks are reporting (June '05) we pay twice what others doand in some cases, much more. Why?

Is it that as a US Citizen, we have more disposable income?

What causes inflation? Greed or Unions or is it a combination ofboth? Why does it cost more today to make a car than it did just15 years ago? What was it that happened in '71 to raise the costof a car by almost 33%? Was it greed or the Unions?

Anyone remember the strike Kroger Grocery Stores underwent in2004? If I had owned Kroger Grocery Stores, I would have shutthem down, changed the name, and then reopened as a non-unionbusiness. If I own a business, why must I accept dictation as tohow much I pay my employees? Is it not a free world?

In the past ten years, to many Unions have gone bust leavinghundred of thousands of people without retirement funds.

There is too much "do unto others BEFORE they do unto you" inthe world today. If mankind cannot change this attitude, we areall doomed to a very difficult time!

Take another break from reading for a while. Think about allthat has be presented so far. Think about how it has influencedyour income and expenses. Just maybe you will see why I chosethe topic title "Retirement In Jeopardy".

So far we have only discussed the human influenced factors as towhy your retirement is in jeopardy. My firm belief is that thereis a much larger threat to retirement income than any other. Canyou guess what that might be?

I am going to guess, "no".

What could possibly remove your income overnight? Gone, nonreplaceable, and all the retirement funds earned and savedthrough the company plan, gone! There is no longer employment inyour community and you do not have the funds to move to anothercommunity. It happens every year here in the US.

Every year, "Mother Nature" has fits of rage that take all theability to earn an income from several thousands! Earth Quake,Tornado, Hurricane, Flood, are all the cause of businessescompletely closing their doors for business. That is if theystill have the doors to close.

You say, "It won't happen to me". What do you think the peopleabove thought?

You think that the insurance will pay to rebuild. The employerdid (?) have insurance, right?

Do you remember the show "Oil Storm" shown on cable TV in June'05? Do you honestly believe it will or cannot happen?

Those disaster shows on TV were not only meant forentertainment! Someone had something they wanted to say and themovies are the easiest way to get the word to the most people.

Unfortunately, most viewed the movies for the entertainment andnot for the message being delivered. They never thought aboutthe fact it could happen at any instant and what would they doif…

In a couple of those movies, they show the complete collapse ofthe insurance industry. Won't happen? How many tornados arethere in the US yearly? How many hurricanes? How manyearthquakes?

Remember the 10.2 earthquake and the resulting Tsunami at theend of '04? What happens when one hits San Francisco, New York,or Florida?

Do you really believe that the insurance companies could pay onthe claims generated by the above situations?

How will the survivors of the initial event survive during thedays, weeks, or months following such an event?

Located several hundred miles away from such an event, how willit impact your income? For how long would it impact your income?

You must take responsibility for your future. Dependence uponemployment is a gamble. What are you doing to ensure you havefunds for an emergency, funds for your retirement? Does yourplan take into consideration how "Mother Nature" could affectthose plans?

I said at the beginning to put your trust in YOU. You must havea direct influence on most everything that influences yourincome and retirement. Total dependence on an employer isunacceptable as shown by the examples given.

Reliance on an employer's retirement plan and Social Securitywill not guarantee you a retirement income!

"If it is to be, it is up to ME!"

Put faith in the computing power sitting on top of yourshoulders. Do not let it be influenced by greed. Do unto others,as you would have them do unto you.

I have not mentioned "where to put your trust". As you can tell,I have some strong beliefs and convictions. If you want to knowthe "where" get my "A Retirement Solution" by visiting my website.

It is also provided free as a learning tool and information forsecuring a Retirement Income.

About the author:Bill Bates and BandSMarketing.com believe very strongly thatdependence upon employment for retirement income will not workin todays economy. Bill goes to great lengths to explain why andprovides solution options at his web sitehttp://bandsmarketing.com/