Life After 50: Women's Worst Fear After 50? It's Not What You Think

Always digging deeper into what women over 50 are really thinking (and not just depending on the academic reports and studies, many of which are frightfully discouraging), I asked women on Facebook and Twitter to reveal that one thing that keeps them awake at night, that single nagging worry that haunts their sleep and has the potential to overshadow their generally positive outlook on life.

Conventional wisdom might say that women over 50 are most concerned about how they look, how many wrinkles they have and how young they appear. In fact, there's big business in convincing us that these should be our focal points. As I've written before, women often feel invisible and unimportant once they are over 50, but that isn't a gut-wrenching fear; it's an observation, and one that most women I know shrug off with a knowing smile.

When I asked them to share their worst fear, none of these issues came up. A few mentioned health as a priority, or maintaining the ability and strength to keep doing everything they are doing. But, based on the many responses, it's clear that these women who are out there working, taking care of their families and contributing to their communities in meaningful ways have something much bigger than crows feet on their minds.

The one common thread that linked their thoughtful comments was this: the fear of not having enough money as they get older.

Here are just a few of the many comments I received:

From personal experience and different circumstances, I wonder how in the world I am going to take care of myself since I have nothing for retirement.

For me, there's so much I want to do and accomplish. I want to continue to work in my business, I want to stay healthy, and I don't want to run out of money.

I worry about being homeless. I've had nightmares about it for several years -- the result of the outpouring of money required to raise kids post-divorce, post-layoffs, and having to pay crazy amounts of money for very basic insurance.

Will I ever be able to afford to retire and will my body hold up until I can.

The disturbing thing is that financial destitution could end up being more than just a fear for far too many women in this country; it could become a fact.