Retirement is the sucker's game. It is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Warning: The government isn't a leprechaun; it's a vote-buying seller of liar's loans (promises to pay).

The Social Security Trust Fund is a pile of government IOUs. Doubt me? Click here. Corporate pension funds are underfunded. Doubt me? Click here. So are state and municipal pension funds. Click here.

Independently managed pension funds look good today only because the baby boomers have not started to retire. When they do, beginning in 2011, they will start cashing out of their pension funds. Down will go the asset value of the funds. This will pull down the capital markets: stocks and bonds.

Meanwhile, Medicare is going bust. Doubt me? Click here.

It is time to face reality: if you are under age 55, you will not be able to afford to retire. If you are over 55, you may think you can afford to retire, but you will be caught by the capital markets. You will be out of the labor force when you should be in it.

Here, you will learn how to avoid the retirement trap. The basic strategy is clear: create a job for yourself that you can retire into. My site covers the following:

How to fire-proof your job
How to identify your calling (which is rarely your job)
How to write an irresistible job application
How to switch careers smoothly
How to take control of your retirement fund

As for your IRA or 401(k) portfolio, to see my recommended allocation, click here.

(If you have not subscribed to the free Tip of the Week report, do so today. The subscription box is on this page.)