….  Mr. Marc Freedman is basically upbeat about the prospects for improving the way people live their later years. Other experts are more cautionary. Paul Hodge, director of the Harvard Generations Policy Program, in Cambridge, Mass., says he agrees that people need to think more about how to shape their careers over a long life span.

But the aging of America presents some severe challenges, he says, and “we have a lot of work ahead of us before we make things rosy.” For example, he says, many Americans are approaching retirement with meager financial resources — especially women. Mr. Hodge, who was an expert adviser to the 2005 White House Conference on Aging, edited a recent study that found that boomer women have more debt than their predecessors and are less likely to have traditional pensions, spousal benefits, or health coverage in retirement. Furthermore, Mr. Hodge adds, “age discrimination is rampant. Nothing fundamental has changed in terms of the marketplace. It’s very difficult for older workers.”