What made you come up with the Retirement Fear Index and then what goes into it?

Well, I left Fidelity five years ago and I was retired for one day.

And I have a lot of stories to tell and there are a lot of interesting people.

So I started freelance writing for a number of financial publications.

I also work as a ghostwriter for several registered investment advisory firms.

And the great news is I can write about things that I want to write about, not that other people are telling me to write about.

So after interviewing a lot of financial advisors over the last few years, it dawned on me that this whole financial industry, which I was part of for 18 years, is all about risk management and why you need to save more.

Why don't you tell us about how fearful are Americans these days about retirement based on your index? And what has the trend been showing you lately and why?

Tell me how that went and then what happened next?

Well, my big message on Medicare is Medicare is not free.

Everybody thinks that, oh, when I get to 65, I'll wait until I'll have my knee surgery because it will all be free.

Wrong.

And when I worked at Fidelity on the corporate benefits side with clients, we did a lot to try to engage people to learn about the health plan.

These are all the things that your company is offering.

And a lot of people don't pay attention, as you know.

If someone was 60 years old, you're talking to a 60-year-old, they're working full-time, what advice would you give them to prepare emotionally for retirement?