Fred Harteis Editors Note: This is a great article regarding retirement, especially those baby boomers that are approaching the age of retirement. This article gives some great tips.

Roughly eight in 10 boomers report they plan to keep working in some capacity after leaving their regular jobs.

Expectation, meet reality: Only 26 percent of current retirees have worked for pay at any time during retirement, and almost half of those don't work anymore because they're not healthy enough or feel they're too old.

"Boomers may not be psychologically prepared for downward mobility in status or working for supervisors who are much younger," says Notre Dame economics professor Teresa Ghilarducci. Yet  boomers remain convinced they willl redefine the concept of "retire" to "rehire."

Okay, maybe you're different. Maybe you will be healthy enough to work and will find a fulfilling, financially rewarding second career. But, just in case life doesn't turn out that way, keep your retirement plans on track with these three steps.

Lowball salary estimates

Plugging an extra $30,000 a year from a job into a retirement calculator definitely brightens your financial prospects. But that may be only an illusion of security.Think hard about how many years you can really work in retirement and how much you might earn, then scale back those projections by at least 25 percent.

Rather than counting on job income that might not materialize, pump up your contributions to your 401(k) and IRA and consider staying at your current job a few more years. You'll probably pull down bigger bucks at your current gig than you would at a different job after you retire, and your nest egg can bulk up further during those extra work years.

Scope out the job market

Familiarize yourself with the kind of work available to retirees so you can plan realistically. Two good places to start: www.retiredbrains.com, where retirees can post resumes and search job listings, and AARP's Money and Work center (www.aarp.org/money), which includes a list of companies, such as Borders and Home Depot, that reach out to mature workers.

Create a backup plan

Some factors you can't control. So consider how you might respond if, say, you have trouble finding work or your health deteriorates. Do you have travel, entertainment or other discretionary expenses you could pare back?

How about ways of generating extra income -- home equity you could tap or a life insurance policy with cash value? Maybe you could trade down to a less expensive home in an area with lower living costs, freeing up cash and reducing expenses at the same time.

Source: cnn.com

About Fred: Fred Harteis leads the I Team headquarters and owns Harteis International.