My 96 year old mother has outlived her husband one of her children,one sister and many nieces and nephews.She had a little nest-egg left from my Dad's labors as a construction foreman. But the sagging economy has reduced her savings by 45%. She is at that point where she must be concerned about paying bills or reducing medical costs. She says it's the unintended consequence of living so long. Her friends and family dying off and seeing the world collapsing around her becomes a depressant.