There are various ways to plan and save for retirement, but for some, that advice is about 40 years too late. Even if you're starting late or have faced numerous setbacks, retirement is possible. Here are some tips from industry professionals on how to make your last-minute retirement dreams a reality.

The most important thing is taking the first step and sticking with it, according to Catherine Collinson, president of the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies in Los Angeles.

"Achieving a sense of retirement readiness is a lot of small steps that can lead to a quantum leap," she says.

The first step

To prepare for retirement, Collinson first suggests taking "a financial look in the mirror." Understand what your personal balance sheet is and calculate a savings goal. Collinson notes that this needs to be a real, calculated goal and not just a spitball estimate.

Wade Mayo, president and CEO of Life Insurance Company of the Southwest in Dallas, says that the amount of money a person needs to retire varies depending on the person, the type of lifestyle they want to live, medical expensesand their dependents.

"It is important to estimate Social Security benefits and other sources of income and what a person expects to spend annually in retirement," Mayo says.

Many experts say it takes about 70 to 85% of your pre-retirement income in order to maintain your lifestyle during retirement, according to Mayo.

People should also plan on having enough to live on for another 25 to 30 years when estimating what they'll need to retire, he adds.

Start saving

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It's Never too Late to Plan for Retirement