Retirement according to Wikipedia, is the point where a person stops employment completely. This usually happens upon reaching a determined age, when physical conditions don't allow the person to work any more (by illness or accident), or even for personal choice (usually in the presence of an adequate pension or personal savings). For reference to Wikipedia and further reading Please CLICK HERE!

Following are traditional funding support for retirement:

• Personal savings


• IRA/401 (k)


• Social security


• Company pension plan


• Stocks/shares Investments


• Mutual Funds Investments


• Bonds

You know the rule of thumb - you'll need 70% to 80% of your pre-retirement income less deductions to maintain the standard of living you had when you were working. But many are not even achieving this. CNN Money quoted a report released by CRR that noted only 20 percent of those who were between the ages of 51 and 61 in 1992 were at risk of falling short of money in retirement. Today, 32 percent are.

And even though you might satisfy the rule, increase in medical expenses due to old age and that occasional spending splurges that you're likely to take from time to time, like say going on that dream holiday vacation that you've been longing to go or even going to that fancy restaurant will all take out a big portion of your retirement savings- which can cause you a bit of problem later on.

People are living longer now. Life expectancy at birth in the United States in 1900 was 47 years and at the end of the century it was 77 years. And a 65-year-old American man today has a life expectancy of 16.4-years, about 50/50 chance of living to 85 and a 25% chance of still being around at 91. That means Americans will now live another 15-30 years after quitting work. Chances are many will outlive their money before they outlive their years.

Be prepared. Have a plan. Nobody in his right mind plans to fail. But when you fail to plan, that is precisely what you'll get. Plan for your retirement years to suit your retirement objectives. And start early. Starting early will give you a longer period to achieve your required retirement objectives - which may translate into a more affordable and less excruciating saving plan.

If you're including stocks/shares into your portfolio you can afford to be more aggressive in your investment approach and still have time to make up for any mistakes (remember higher returns means more risks!). You might want to use a combination of the above mentioned types of funding for your retirement planning (your portfolio). As to the types and what proportion should your portfolio comprise of, there's no hard and fast rule to follow. All will depend on a combination of factors, namely your age, income level, marital status, objectives, risk profiles, insurance coverage etc that any Financial Planner may be able to help you.

Accumulating cash, which will be your primary plan, entails you to save a fix amount of money every month. This includes your contribution to pension plan, 401(k), social security and personal savings. Preferably your plan should include stocks and mutual funds as well, to take advantage of their greater returns. Whatever asset class you choose to form your portfolio (whether cash, stocks, mutual funds etc) the idea is for you to accumulate the amount of money you require to suit the lifestyle you want after retirement - your retirement objectives.

With proper planning you'll arrive at your destination with confidence and secure - not anxious.