I T's FUN to retire if you can stay well. It pays to have a periodic physical examination to see that you are as well as you can be. Nature has a way of creeping up on you as you get and begin to be afflicted with this, that, and what have you-in other words, when you begin to come apart at the seams. Secondly, it's fun to retire only if you have enough money to have your bread with a little jam on it. The second if is important in relation to the first because being comfortably secure keeps up your physical well-being as well as your mental attitude, to say nothing of your economic situation. It has been pointed out repeatedly that there are several ways of providing an adequate income for persons-I say older as I personally hate to be called aged. There are personal savings, investments, personal annuities, employer's and employee's retirement plans, and social security (federal old-age and survivors insurance). To begin with the last first, social security helps to supplement any of the various savings plans but, as it is presently set up, it is not enough to live on, no matter how simply you live-the present average social security old-age benefit being about $65 per month. Of course, you may live with your family or become part of another family to which you contribute what you can. And some nurses will be able to qualify for admission to a private home for aged-but comparatively few. Some of us are fortunate to be the recipients of pensions under employer-employee retirement plans and since, by law, all industry had to participate in social security when it became effective, the income from that source is added to that of the pension plans and augments them. So between an adequate pension plan and social security one makes out. I am one of those! Every individual should try to have enough savings on hand to meet an emergency. This is really a must. Some people are sufficiently wise to be able to make good investments, but the sounder the investment the less likelihood there is of a large return and it takes plenty of money to be adequately protected. Some of us who thought we were playing safe learned to our chagrin, during the depression of the 1930's, that what we had, we lost. So investments alone may not always give you the security you expect. Some forehanded nurses have purchased personal annuities at a sufficiently early age to enjoy a substantial benefit when they plan to retire. All these efforts are so much to the good. However, many nurses have not had sufficient income to make savings or investments or personal annuities possible. Particularly is this true of nurses who have had family responsibilities.