. >> reporter: alicia minell leads boston college's center for retirement research. their data shows 51 is% of households are at risk for not having enough money to maintain their living standards. that number jumps to 65% when you add in health care and long-term care. she says there is a solution. keep working. >> if people can possibly work until 70 their social security benefit will be 75% higher at 70 than it is at 62. >> reporter: so this generation of prospective retirees is readjusting expectations. >> there are more practical. more pragmatic about what that life looks like. spending time with family, reinventing themselves. >> reporter: accepting the hard reality that these won't be their fathers' golden years. anne thompson, nbc news, new york. >>> again, there are steps people can take now, but they take some doing. for that we are joined by our friend, financial editor jean chatzky. for some people it's paralyzing and they don't get into it. >> which is part of the problem. the first thing people need to do is know what they have coming to them in terms o