A boomer lives on $1,601 monthly from Social Security and struggles to pay bills. She plans to wait a few more years until she touches her 401(k).

• Maureen, a retired teacher, struggles to live on $1,601 monthly from Social Security.
• She has a 401(k) but hasn't used it because she's worried about making it last the rest of her life.
• Many baby boomers face similar challenges and over half have $250,000 or less in retirement assets.

Maureen used to have a tradition with her third-grade class. Every year, she and her students would read Patricia Polacco's "The Keeping Quilt" and spend the afternoon working on a craft themed to the story. The students would decorate their own fabric square — and Maureen would sew them together. She kept each quilt long after each class graduated.