THIRD OF FOUR PARTS

For former Aloha Airlines worker Chris Opiopio, it means working another eight years to take care of family. For Honolulu police detective Bart Canada, it means putting off retirement for a while even though he is coming up on 25 years of service. And for Bank of Hawaii Vice President Kathleen Bryan, it means working beyond 65 so she can retire comfortably and travel to Asia.

Tough economic times mean a delay in retirement — by choice for some, and no choice given for others. It also means starting over again for some who have been laid off after having held the same job for 15 to 20 years.

Opiopio, who made 30 years in January at Aloha Airlines, was just getting ready to vest her 401(k) portfolio and retire when the airline abruptly shut down in April.

The 54-year-old Opiopio expects to work another eight years at Mokulele Airlines, where she has found a new job wearing several hats — working at the counter, boarding and membership outreach.

For Opiopio, medical care coverage was a determining factor in her choice to keep on working, since she is the caregiver for her husband, who is in a wheelchair. Starting a new job, however, means accumulating hours again to get some of the same level of benefits she had at Aloha.

She still gets emotional when she hears Aloha's trademark “;spread a little aloha”; song, and had vowed to never work for another airline, but then Mokulele came along. Finding the job at Mokulele (where she has joined nearly 100 former Aloha colleagues) has been a blessing.

“;It is the holiday season and I still have my family,”; Opiopio said. “;I should be thankful for that.”;

Canada, who turned 50 today, said he is postponing retirement until at least 2010 after his retirement portfolio plunged due to the stock market. He was considering retirement in May and possibly moving to the mainland to take other positions, but the economy has forced him to postpone his plans.

“;Our 401(k)s and other retirement packages have substantially decreased due to the stock market,”; Canada said. “;Everything is going up and income is going down.”;

For Canada, earnings are affected, as well as opportunities for career development and training, not to mention the cost of basic living expenses in Hawaii — and the risk of losing medical benefits.

Right now the Police Department has a hiring freeze due to state budget cuts, which also means fewer promotions.

But there were other circumstances that made Canada decide to stay in the police work force, among them the need to care for his mother-in-law.

Luckily, though, Canada will have a job: “;In law enforcement I think we'll always be gainfully employed. Crime isn't going to go away.”;

During tough economic times, people sometimes have no choice but to put off retirement, whether they are in their 50s or well into their 60s. Some people also have opted to wait until the economy feels more secure.

Bruce Bottorff, spokesman for AARP Hawaii, said the office has been getting inquiries and letters from members who are confronting the same realities — that their retirement savings have dwindled.

“;Tough decisions are having to be made on a daily basis,”; Bottorff said. “;In the worse-case scenario, people who have either retired, or were anticipating retiring based on assumptions of what their income would be, are now forced to reconsider those retirement plans.”;

AARP Financial offers 10 tips for surviving in today's market, among them taking emotions out of investing, as well as giving yourself a retirement reality check. In deciding when to retire, people should carefully consider when they will maximize Social Security benefits.

Bryan, vice president and manager of Bank of Hawaii's financial planning team and private client services, has figured she would do better by putting off retirement for just another year or two.

Bryan, 63, has worked at Bank of Hawaii for more than 26 years and has set a strategy and goal in place for her retirement.

She had four goals she planned on achieving before retiring: paying off her mortgage, paying for a new car, painting the house and remodeling the living room. Also, she plans to travel.

“;So I actually have an actual nest egg in mind,”; she said. “;I know how much because I'm a financial planner and I did the projections.”;

While she had planned on achieving that goal by the time she was 65, Bryan said she will have to rethink that now that there has been a 40 percent decline in her portfolio.

But waiting for two more years means she will have greater Social Security income, which will make up for the losses in her portfolio. Besides, Bryan enjoys her job.

“;When you plan, the plans need to be flexible,”; Bryan said, which is what she advises clients. “;You have a target and a strategy, but you need to stay flexible because you never know what's going to happen.”;

During tough times, Bryan advises her clients to look carefully at their asset allocation to see whether it has the right amount of risk and reward.

Bonds are more stable, but pulling out of stocks altogether means “;you may not have the growth for the future to support your retirement,”; she said.

“;This is a different kind of volatility that we've seen historically in the market,”; she said. “;Don't do things based on fear. Go back to the basics and why you chose this asset allocation in the first place. We always advocate talking to professional advisers who understand the bigger picture.”;

She recommends including inflation into the pot set aside for retirement, and remembering that people are living longer these days.

Also, there are alternatives — working part time instead of full time, or selling the house.

Many people are retiring well beyond the historical marker of age 65 these days.

For Andrew Poepoe, director of the U.S. Small Business Administration, retirement was eight years overdue.

“;It was time for me,”; said Poepoe, 73, who will retire at year's end.

At the age-65 marker, Poepoe got sidetracked. He was starting a program allowing native Hawaiian firms to qualify for federal contracts — and wanted to see it through.

Poepoe has held the helm at the agency since 1991 but was also an executive at Dole Packaged Foods Co. and served in the state Legislature.

Poepoe said he has two 401(k)s and that he will do fine. “;I've had numerous careers that I'm trying to put to rest,”; he said.

Upon retirement he will have more time to spend with his family, including two grandkids, and will volunteer at Kaumakapili Church, where he sings in the choir.

Wally Amos, 72, owner of Chip & Cookie and founder of the Read Aloha Foundation, just opened his second store in Waikiki and says he is not ready to retire any time soon.

“;Retire to do what?”; said Amos, who compares retirement to an airplane sitting uselessly on a tarmac. “;To just do nothing? That doesn't make sense. You have to do something that challenges you and gives you enjoyment and satisfaction.”;