Raquel Gayle, Associate, Health Care Practice

RAQUEL M. GAYLE , a health care lawyer with Powell Goldstein, a law firm in Atlanta, doesn't often think about preparing for retirement, she said, mainly because she is saving half her paycheck to buy a house. She is, after all, 33 and single, with a $130,000 annual salary.

But fear does strike at times, in the guise of a representative from Northwestern Mutual who occasionally tries to encourage Ms. Gayle and her colleagues to invest in term life insurance as a way to save for retirement. ''We hide from him, stand him up at Starbucks because of the scary numbers he puts before us,'' Ms. Gayle said.

To view the full article please look for the New York Times 04/11/06 issue

Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company. All Rights Reserved.