It’s hard to say what was the point of CNN Money’s latest
contribution to the retirement debate. The site’s Q&A with
Stanford University psychologist Laura Carstensen, called “It’s
time to rethink retirement,” did little to clarify for its
audience the serious issues surrounding Social Security and
retirement that lie ahead. And it ignored fiscal realities many
of the elderly face now and will face in the future.  CNN
Money—jointly produced by CNN, Fortune magazine, and Money
magazine—calls Carstensen, who heads Stanford’s Center on
Longevity, “one of the nation’s top researchers on aging.”
Perhaps, but she throws out a lot of glib generalities about
aging and retirement without any backup. Which studies? When
were they done? How did they place in the universe of other
similar studies? Readers get a lot of Carstensen opinion, but
she’s no expert when it comes to Social Security. Perhaps
psychology and the financial nitty-gritty of social insurance
don’t mix.  CNN Money’s Donna Rosato asked Carstensen if peopl