The San Francisco Chronicle today reports that with the cost of living rising and investments falling, the percentage of people 65-69 in the workforce has climbed from 18.4%in 1985 to 30.7% in the first quarter of 2008. (Source: BLS)

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The article, “Comfortable Retirement: A Fading Dream for Many,” says dwindling pensions, investments and health costs are “forcing workers to keep on working.”

“The trend marks one of the great social transformations of the postwar era,” says the Chronicle. “For four decades following World War II, an increasingly affluent society afforded a growing number of older people the chance to leave their jobs ad enjoy a secure retirement. Social Security, private pensions and, beginning in the 1960s, Medicare allowed tens of millions of seniors to live decent lives without punching the clock.

“About a generation ago, the tide began to turn. Guaranteed monthly pensions gave way to 401(k)s that handed workers rather than employers the lion’s share of responsibility for fund retirement. And health care costs began eating up ever-larger portions of seniors’ income.

“Today, for millions of older Americans, quitting their jobs is no longer an option…”