A majority of American workers will not be able to maintain their current standard of living after they retire, according to a report released Tuesday.

The Center for Retirement Research (CRR) estimates 61% of households are "at risk" of being unable to live the way they would like and pay for their health care when they get old.

CRR considers consumers to be "at risk" if their savings, Social Security and pension benefits combined will fall at least 10% short of the income needed in retirement to support the same standard of living they enjoyed while working.

Previous reports have considered health care to be a cost that retirees factor in by "rearranging their basket of consumption" - that is, spending less on consumer goods.

CRR's study assumes that people want to spend the same amount on goods in retirement that they do now and that they consider health insurance and the added health care costs associated with growing old to be an additional expense.

"People take the notion of health care for granted," said Andrew D. Eschtruth, associate director for external relations at CRR. "The basic assumption of this report is that retirees think they will eat the same

At any given time, millions of Americans are in the process of changing jobs, with millions more thinking about taking the leap.

The average U.S. worker has held 10 jobs by the time he or she hits age 40, U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao recently noted.

When you move from one job to another, you have the opportunity to improve your financial situation on several fronts.

But job changes can be complicated. If you're not careful, your 401(k) and medical benefits can suffer some damage in the transition.

When you leave a job, you might be tempted to cash out your 401(k) plan. That's a bad idea. If you're under age 59 1/2 -- as most people who change jobs are -- you'll have to pay a 10% penalty for taking an early withdrawal.

What's more, you will have to pay taxes on the money you withdraw -- and the money might push you into a high tax bracket, making the hit even worse. And you'll give up the potential for future tax-deferred growth on those savings. In short, you'll be shooting yourself in the foot.

Here are three options that make more sense:

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Hewlett-Packard Co. started its fiscal year with a first-quarter profit above analyst expectations and predicted its performance will improve in the months ahead, providing a ray of hope in the gathering economic gloom.

The Palo Alto-based maker of computers and printers said Tuesday that it earned $2.13 billion, or 80 cents per share, for the three months ended in January. That represented a 38 percent increase from net income of $1.55 billion, or 55 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

If not for expenses stemming from past acquisitions, HP said it would have earned 86 cents per share. That figure exceeded the average estimate of 81 cents per share among analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

Revenue for the period totaled $28.5 billion, a 13 percent increase from the previous year. Analysts, on average, had forecast revenue of $27.6 billion.

Management also painted a rosy picture for the rest of the fiscal year ending in October. Excluding certain one-time expenses, HP expects to earn from $3.50 to $3.54 per share, outstripping the previous analyst estimate of $3.36 per share, according to Thomson Financial.

The upbeat forecast, coupled with the strong first quarter, impressed investors. HP shares surged $2.31