Most workers dream of the day when they swap their business attire for shorts and trade in business meetings for time on the links. Maintaining your desired lifestyle in retirement without a steady paycheck takes discipline and extensive planning, and theres no one-size-fits-all approach.

There is a high correlation between the action people take and seeing results, says Jean Setzfand, vice president forFinancial Security at AARP. She adds that the level of action in financial planning is a good predictor for financial freedom when the golden years roll around.

How someone fares financially after retirement is directly tied to three factors-- their salary level at retirement, how long they work beyond 65 and how much and whether they save in a defined-contribution retirement plan during their working lifetime, says Nevin Adams, director of education and external relations and co-director of EBRI Center for Research on Retirement Income.

Know Where You Spend Money

Whether youre planning for retirement or in retirement, knowing your expenses is important. Not just your fixed expenses, like rent and food, but also your discretionary expenses, like vacations and other payments that dont occur monthly, says Michael Goodman, certified public accountant and president at Wealthstream Advisors.

Many budgets dont change significantly in retirement, especially if they stay in the same home, but, for example, there are adjustments for travel or whether someone eats out more or less. As people age, their budgets will change and some costs will disappear, but these may be replaced by health-care costs, says Ted Sarenski, certified public accountant financial planner and CEO of Blue Ocean Strategic Capital.

With life expectancy for Americans at 78.1 years, according to the World Bank, 50% of the population lives beyond the life expectancy, says Goodman. Taking this into account, you should be conservative with your life expectancy when calculating how much money you will need.

Calculate How Much You Will Need

When calculating how much you will need to cover retirement funds, Goodman suggests using investment earnings and a portion of principal in a retirement account. And while planning for life after work should start in your 20s and 30s, realize that there will be a significant shift in lifestyle.

You should have different sources of income in retirement, says Sarenski. Social Security only replaces 25% to 30% of your preretirement income. If you need $50,000 for retirement annually while receiving $15,000 from Social Security for example, you calculate the amount of savings needed by dividing $35,000 ($50,000 minus $15,000) by a conservative 5% or multiplying $35,000 times 20 years. In this example, you would need $700,000 in savings.

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