Bill Haber / AP file

Retirees of the future will find their experience much different from their parents' golden years.

By Samuel Weigley, 24/7 Wall St.

Once people reach their 50s they finally see retirement on the horizon. They start envisioning that time when they can stop going to work and instead spend their days on the golf course, on the beach or with their families. Yet many people have not saved nearly enough for retirement by the time they are 50 years old. A recent survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute found that 60 percent of workers born between 1946 and 1964 have less than $100,000 for retirement. In fact, 40 percent have saved less than $25,000.

24/7 Wall St. interviewed retirement-related experts from brokerage firms, banks, retirement advocacy groups, and independent financial advisers. With their help, 24/7 identified the eight actions you should take if you have not prepared to retire.

Financial advisers generally recommend people begin saving for retirement starting in their 20s to take full advantage of compounding interest. Although the financial advisers who spoke to 24/7 Wall St. say it is very hard to give concrete estimates on how much should be allocated toward equities and fixed-income, they say it is best to cut risk as one approaches their target retirement age.

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Not saving up enough for retirement used to be less of a problem. Workers in previous generations often received pensions from their employers, allowing retirees to know exactly how much money they would get once retired. But employers have increasingly shifted that responsibility onto the employees through 401k and other defined contribution plans.

These days, notes Joe Ready, executive vice president for retirement at Wells Fargo, people get married and have children later in life than previous generations. This means that it is increasingly hard to save for retirement during the 40s and 50s because they still face heavy financial obligations -- they are still paying off their mortgage, sending their children to college and so on.

The fact that many current retirees are living off pensions has conditioned younger generations to think their retirement might be the same, says Lule Demmissie, managing director of retirement for TD Ameritrade. Face it, Demmissie says, your retirement isnt your parents retirement.

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8 things to do if you haven't planned for retirement