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Most people associate retirement with much more than not working. They also think that when you don’t go to the office every day you also don’t get that paycheck either.

Retirement is different things to different people. For those in their 20s, it's a distant dream. For those in their 30s and 40s, it's a minor concern. For those 50 and beyond, it's a reality that must be dealt with. No matter what your age, you should start to prepare for your retirement and the sooner the better.

Retirement planning is about more than investing and saving. It’s also about enjoying your life after you decide to retire from your career or job. To fully enjoy yourself after retirement, you should have a plan on how you will spend your time and where you will live.

You probably should start now to get in shape so you will enjoy a healthy retirement. What about your family, how do they fit into your retirement plans? Your retirement plans should go well beyond finances.

Many young people don’t think that they need to plan for retirement. Heck, I’m only 40 and I don’t really think about planning for retirement. But the reality is that there is no time like the present to start thinking about your future.

Unless you are near retirement age, you will no doubt procrastinate about retirement planning. It’s probably impossible to expect someone in their twenties to make serious retirement plans. Even those with 15 to 20 years left before retirement might have trouble with firm financial plans.

In your twenties, your retirement plans will probably consist of a basic savings program. Retirement is many years away and your thoughts are probably more on buying a house than on retiring.

In your thirties, your thoughts might be on sending your children to college and thoughts of retirement are not important. When you reach your forties, you begin the wonder where the years went and start to consider serious planning for when you retire.

Here, consider, is the key word. If you’re like most people, you consider planning but don’t quite get around to it. Then all at once, you are in your fifties and realization hits. You are near retirement age and haven’t given any thoughts to how you will afford to quit working and enjoy your retirement years.

OK, no matter what your age, there is hope for your retirement plan. Most employers provide a pension plan, the government provides social security, and you might have some investments and real estate. The younger you are the better but with some serious thought, you can pull it off.

Of course, first, you’ll need to commit yourself to quitting in the first place.

SHOULD YOU RETIRE?
Sure you like your job. But if you had the chance to retire early, say at age 50, would you sniff at it? Maybe you really like your black swivel chair. Perhaps you think your work is just too important to leave it behind. The truth is that there are other people out there who can do your job, and you can get the same black swivel chair at Staples!

For most people, a 30-year career is quite enough. But is early retirement realistic for you? Let's take a look.

At age 50, the government says you've got about another 33 years to live. That's longer than your entire working career. With life expectancy increasing by leaps and bounds, you may want to think in terms of a 40-year retirement.

Besides travel, golf, fishing, and classes in paperclip art, what else is on the agenda? How much will it cost? Will you have enough to do it all? How much has to come out of each paycheck to raise that stash? Good question!

Have you thought about inflation? After all, peering out 20 years into the future you know that the $50K that looks like a good annual income now will certainly have to be larger to buy the same things then as it does today. But what's inflation going to be through the years? And that's just to get you to the first year of retirement. What impact will it have over the 40 years after that?

Where will you live? With luck, the mortgage will be paid off so all you have to worry about is property taxes. Maybe you'll even sell out and move into a smaller place in a sunnier climate. Sure beats having to shovel snow at age 70, even if it is further away from family and friends. Besides, the kids can always come down for a visit.

You should think about insurance, too. You're probably insured under group policies through work for disability, life, and health coverage right now. In fact, your employer probably kicks in some part of or maybe even the entire premium for that insurance.

Retire, though, and you will most likely lose that coverage. What happens to your spouse if you're inconsiderate enough to die early or (heaven forbid) become permanently disabled? If required to do so, how will you pay for a major illness or hospitalization and all of the attendant physician's bills?

Forget about Social Security or Medicare. You're way too young for either of those to apply. And even if you did qualify, will the assistance be enough for a survivor and/or all the medical bills? If not, what alternatives do you have? And what about long-term care costs?

About now you may be thinking: "Hmmm, perhaps I should have a few more children to support me in my old age." Don't worry, Fool. You needn't sire enough offspring for a soccer team. Our advice? Never leave your job.

We're just kidding, of course. We're confident you can retire at a reasonably young age without having to populate the Dakotas or remain shackled to your desk. The trick is careful planning. We'll take you step-by-step through the retirement planning process.

Retirement planning entails far more than just picking an age to do so and a beachfront property to do it upon. It requires a hard look at your lifestyle, your resources, and a whole host of factors that we tend to take for granted while we're working. Most, but not all, deal with money issues. As Fools, we face them head on.

WHAT IS RETIREMENT PLANNING
Retirement planning is the thought and commitment that you put into providing for income and a satisfactory lifestyle for your later years after you leaves the work force. Most people will spend an average of 25 years in retirement so careful planning is necessary for this to be a comfortable time.

When you reach retirement age, you will probably have in come from social security and possibly a pension but will that be enough? Will you continue to live in you present home or will you relocate? Do you want to travel? These and many more questions will need to be answered in you preparation for your retirement years.

Retirement planning should begin as soon as you start your first job but most are too busy raising a family to think about something that far away.

It’s awfully hard to think about retirement when you’re wondering where to find the best day care for your infant. This is the time to look at your pension plan or 401(K) at work and have as much as you are allowed or can afford contributed each pay.

As soon as you can, you should start investing a percentage of you pay for your retirement. These investments can be IRAs, mutual funds, stocks, bonds, money market, or other investment vehicles your broker might suggest. The secret is to make it a habit to invest regularly and not be tempted to use the money.

If you are older and just starting to think about your retirement, there are ways you can make up for lost time. Starting at a younger age gives you more time to accumulate money but with good investment strategies, you can sometimes manage to make enough for a comfortable retirement. Discuss your needs with a reputable broker and stick to your plan.

Your retirement income will probably dictate where you will live and whether or not you can fulfill a dream of traveling. You might want or need to work well into your retirement years. More and more men and women are starting second careers after retiring from one job. The choice of when and how you retire is yours. Plan wisely.

There are a lot of things you need to consider when beginning your retirement planning.

WHAT TO THINK ABOUT
When you are thinking about retirement, you need to set a few goals to begin with.

How will you spend your time once you aren’t trudging off to work every day? There are lots of options for every retiree. You need to pick the one that’s best suited to you and one that will keep you busy.

Maybe you want to travel, start or continue a hobby, garden, play golf, dote over the grandchildren, or even climb a mountain or two. The possibilities are limitless. Dare to dream and then make those dreams come true. You’ve worked hard and you deserve a happy retirement. Retirement doesn’t mean you should resign yourself to sitting around talking about your ailments or feeding the pigeons in some park. It should mean freedom to explore life and all it has to offer.

Maybe you will be bored with the idea of not going to work every day. If this is the case, you might be happier working or volunteering once you retire. There are lots of retirees who have started a second or even a third career after retirement. I’m sure there are many ways you can volunteer if you don’t relish the idea of working for money. Almost every organization is begging for persons to volunteer time to help with the many activities and projects.

What about your health once you retire? You should start planning right now for a healthier body. If you smoke, stop. If you’re overweight, take measures to slim down. Start an exercise and nutrition program so you will be as healthy as possible in your older years. Make a commitment to become a healthier, more active person and you will reap the benefits now and later.

Been putting off medical check-ups? Now is the time to get these done. By taking care of your health in your early years might help with securing health insurance at a reasonable rate once you are older.

Another area that you might need to develop is friends and family. A career sometimes doesn’t leave much time for cultivating friendships or enjoying your family. Once you retire, you will have more time to spend with these people but will they be there for you when that time comes?

Try to make time for family and friends, even if it’s just a few hours a week. The older you get, the harder it is to find and make new friends. If you ignore your family, they might not be there for you when you get older and feel you have more time for them.

So, in addition to investing and saving money for your retirement, now you need to make some additional plans. You need to plan how you might want to spend your retirement, where you might want to spend it, how to be healthy enough to enjoy it, and how to keep your family and friends around to help you enjoy it. This makes retirement planning take a whole new meaning. Retirement shouldn’t be considered an ending, it should just be a continuation of living.

Of course, money is important when you are thinking about retirement. When you don’t have a steady paycheck coming in from week to week, you will still have bills to pay and things that you want to do that will require money.

When you begin to plan for your retirement, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Do you have a pension or retirement plan at your place of employment and are you eligible? Some companies do not offer retirement or pension plans and some jobs within companies are not eligible for these plans even if they are offered.

2. How much will your pension or retirement plan be worth when you retire? This information is necessary so you can decide if you need additional savings such as an IRA to supplement your retirement benefits when you decide to retire.

3. If your employer provides a retirement plan, what happens to it if you change jobs? Your employer can tell you if your retirement plan can be rolled over into an IRA, cashed in, or left with the company if you should leave the company. You will need to decide which is best for you to do.

4. If you retire early, what happens to your retirement plan with your employer? Your employer can tell you when you are vested with the company and what you can expect to receive in the way of retirement benefits when you decide to retire.

5. Will pension benefits be reduced by Social Security? In some instances, your benefits could be reduced by the amount of Social Security you draw. Discuss this with your employer to see if this happens with your pension.

6. Look at where your finances are right now. Gather all your financial information into one place and go over it to see what you have and what you need. Look at your benefit plans, social security, veteran’s benefits, and so on. Make a detailed list of your assets, such as real estate and investments. Next list all your liabilities, such as debts, loans, child support, and alimony.

Retirement planning is looking into the future and seeing how much money you’ll need to live a comfortable and satisfying life.

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