Sandra Kortz's Parrots, Worth $150,000, Stolen From Backyard

An elderly Florida couple saw their retirement savings fly away this week after discovering that thieves had stolen their most prized possessions: $150,000 worth of parrots.

Thieves stole more than 300 parrots from the backyard of Sandra Kortz, 69, and her husband, 72, of Fort Myers, Fla., early Tuesday morning, ABC News reports.

"I cried. Absolutely devastated," Kortz, an exotic bird breeder, told ABC News. "It was our livelihood... The birds were going to be our retirement, but not anymore."

In total there were about 160 breeding pairs of exotic birds, according to the Associated Press. The thieves stole the parrots right from their cages.

Kortz and her husband will not be alone in struggling to afford retirement. One in two Americans are not saving for retirement at all, according to a recent study by LIMRA, a financial services trade association.

As of 2010, Americans needed about $1 million in retirement savings to generate $40,000 per year in income, according to Kiplinger. Since many Americans have not saved nearly enough, a record number of seniors are postponing retirement and continuing to work, according to the Labor Department.