The Employee Benefit Research Institute has released its 23rd annual Retirement Confidence Survey. The findings showed the lowest level of confidence about the respondent's ability to retire comfortably (or at all) in the survey's history.

While some of this might be tied to the recent economic downturn and the financial difficulties it has caused, I suspect that a portion is also tied to a lack of planning for retirement. For the people in that category, here are four steps to boost your confidence in your ability to retire.

Determine Your Retirement Needs.

Take a look at how you would like to live in retirement and try to place a price tag on that lifestyle, ideally in terms of a monthly figure. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

--Will I stay in my current house or relocate?

--Will I have a mortgage in retirement?

--What do I plan to do in retirement? Travel? Other activities? What will this cost?

--Will I live in a low or a high-cost part of the country (or the world)?

--Will I work during part of your retirement?

Answers are likely easier the closer you are to retirement, but at the very least try to come up with a number or a couple of numbers that might meet your monthly retirement needs to at least give yourself an idea of where you are heading.

Read more here:
4 Steps to Boost Your Retirement Confidence