Did they save and invest enough? Did they clock in enough hours during their career? Could they have put more money aside for a rainy day?

The last time inflation was this high, Dennis O'Connor, an 82-year-old retiree from Temecula, California, says he and his peers were able to weather the storm of rising prices. Today, however, they have limited options.

"When the last events occurred 40 years ago, we were employed. The overriding concern is we cannot plan retirement a second time," he told The Epoch Times. "When you are younger and working you can recover. Retirees will never have that option."

Before retirement, O'Connor served as councilman and mayor for City of Oak Forest. He also worked as a senior executive on some of California's large infrastructure and environmental projects.

"Like most retirees, we are from the Silent and Boomer generations, and many are children of the Greatest Generation who experienced World War II and the Great Depression," he said.

"We were told to save for retirement, don't depend on Social Security as it may not be there, contribute to a company's 401(k) or put money away," he noted.

Many retirees depend on a fixed income from their pension plans or Social Security checks and their investments and emergency reserves are being imbibed by inflation.