How do I forgive myself for not funding my retirement?

Either start saving something or simply stop worrying us and other people about it. You do not have a 401(k) or 403(b) at your job. If you dig deep into your finances you would find that you have money t save for your retirement. Saving money is hard but once you get started, the money would do all the work for you. I strongly suggest that you get your self a Roth IRA or 401(k) account asap, if you do not have one. You can never go wrong with investing and saving for your future. You have many years of compound interest ahead of you. You could be a millionaire before you reach your retirement age so if you do not have a Roth IRA than get started with the Roth IRA account by contacting T-Rowe Price or Fidelity. It is suggested that you pick the Roth IRA target year fund set for the age 65

https://individual.troweprice.com/public%E2%80%A6

https://www.fidelity.com/

https://investor.vanguard.com/corporate-%E2%80%A6

Don't waste your life and later on down the road, you would have a lot of regrets plus thinking about how other people did it. Take advantage of the company 401(k) or 403(b). Never leave free money on the table. Never invest through a bank or credit union because of third party fees plus it would leave you with crumbs after they obtain their fees. Get this started today but also keep a cash cushion so you would not have to get your 401(k) early.

If not then you only have yourself to blame for your situation. Take Care

I am 66 now and didn't take out any pension either. I just get on with it. I love my work and intend to keep on as long as I can. In the meantime my house is paid off and I have very few bills and no debt, so it takes relatively little to live quite well, including an annual holiday. I have been putting away more than half my earnings every week for quite a while now and the total is increasing nicely. If I had health issues that forced retirement, there is enough to cover very basic needs for up to 20 years. I am now old enough to qualify for the state pension, which will ease the situation a little. I won't be living it up with foreign cruises or anything unnecessary.

You are 20 years younger than me. You have another 20 years to catch up to be in my position. I don't expect to be a financial burden on my family.

good grief your only 45, you have at least 20-25 years of working in front of you. first of all most people never get rich by working for someone else, are you handy at fixing things, if so try and find some run down houses that need some cosmetic work. fix them up and either resell them or rent them out. if not both you and your wife find an extra job to work to pay off debt and then don't ever have any again, except maybe on your house and work to pay that off, if you have kids still leaching off you, get their butts working and contributing. buy a couple of dave Ramsey's books and read them and do what he says NO excuses

Step 1: Start a pension plan now.

Step 2: Move on. At 45 you should have learned by now to learn from mistakes and then put them behind you. We would all die of shame if we spent our lives dwelling on all the mistakes we have made.

You can do what most irresponsible people do. With no savings youll ve eligible for medicaid food stamps section 8 heating assistance. Seniors are usually a top priority

It's not too late. Start saving NOW. Make yourself proud seeing how well you can do!!!

start saving anything you can like coins or pocket change because it adds up