My mom is more or less in this boat right now.

I myself am also experiencing various degrees of constant anxiety over my financial future, with part a considerable part thanks to retirement outlooks.

I looked up a retirement calculator, and if I continue to put in 15% towards it as I am currently, a (pretty conservative) estimate predicts I don't retire period. An optimistic one says I could still be A-OK, but that's merely meeting goals. Those sound like lousy odds to me.