The new rules for retirement

This isn't your daddy's retirement. And it's not for the faint of heart.

Do-it-yourself 401(k)s, IRAs and multiple-choice Medicare supplement plans have taken the place of the company pension plan, retiree health benefits and a gold watch.

And working into retirement -- in the form of a second (or third) career or part-time job -- is becoming the norm.

"It's a changing landscape," says Sara Rix, a senior strategic policy adviser with AARP.

But this evolution hasn't happened overnight, she says. "Some of the changes we're seeing began 20 to 25 years ago."

One major adjustment: People are working longer. In 1985, there was fewer than 1 in 5 65- to 69-year-olds in the workforce, Rix says. Today, it's almost 1 in 3 -- a 74 percent increase.

Some would-be retirees need the money, says Rix. Others enjoy their jobs and want to keep at it. And, for some, it can be a combination of the two.

Whether you're 25 or 75, you should know these seven things about retirement in the new millennium.

It's like one of those high school math brain-twisters: The amount you save times your compounded earnings, minus any investment losses and factoring for inflation, equals what standard of living at some (movable) future date?

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7 things you must know about the 'new retirement'