It's never too late to start planning your retirement security. Here's a one-size-fits-all strategy that will help secure an adequate stream of income in your later years.

With the giant baby boom generation entering traditional retirement years largely under-saved, the issue of how to secure adequate income for these years has been thrust under a national, if not global, spotlight. Thankfully, this is a fixable problem.

In a new study, Fidelity Investments and Strategic Advisers found that 38% of current retirees do not have enough income to cover their fixed monthly costs and that working Americans can expect a 28% income drop after they retire. Thats a sizable hole to plug and its made deeper by some false illusions.

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For example, 66% of workers plan to work past their normal retirement age in order to make ends meet. But in reality only 12% will. Joblessness is part of the issue. But so is poor health. In fact, while just 34% of todays workers expect to be in fair or poor health at retirement age, the reality is that 43% will experience significant decline, according to the study.

These findings underscore the yawning need for more retirement security, and according to Fidelity the fix is much the same for every age groupthough the earlier you start the more certain the results. In a nutshell, here are five steps to adequate retirement income, regardless of age:

How do these steps fill the gaps? Lets look at a typical Generation X worker (aged 34 to 47). On average, in retirement this worker anticipates needing $4,900 of monthly income (in todays dollars). Yet looking at this workers assets and savings rate, the study found likely monthly income would be just $3,200 (through Social Security, pensions and savings withdrawals). That leaves a gap of $1,700 a month.

This worker can close the gap through the steps above. Heres how it works:

Start with asset allocation. Most of Gen X is way too conservative with just 50% invested in stocks. At 37, exposure should be 83%. Greater growth potential over the next 30 years translates into another $350 of monthly income in retirement. Savings? The typical Gen Xer is socking away 5% of pre-tax earnings in a tax-favored account. By increasing that rate one percentage point each year until the rate reaches 10%, and then maintaining it, the worker adds $550 of monthly income.

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Retirement Income: 5 Steps to Fill the Gaps