It is important to continually calculate at least once a year how much you need to save for a secure retirement and to see if you are on track. In order to perform a more accurate retirement planning calculation, find out the current value of any and all retirement accounts as well as any expected company pension and social security benefits. Contact former employers to determine if you are eligible for any pension benefits. Get benefit estimates in writing.

Most financial institutions have retirement planning calculators that can be accessed at no charge within their website. You can also type in the words "retirement calculator" into an Internet search engine to locate additional calculators.

Performing retirement planning calculations involves many unknowns. Make sure to run worst case as well as best case scenarios. Keep in mind there is a wide range in quality with retirement calculators. Many calculators assume a constant investment and inflation return each year.

When performing calculations, you may want to assume 100% of your pre-retirement income will be needed in retirement. Studies continually show that since people are living longer and are healthier, most individuals desire to maintain the same standard of living in retirement as they had during their working years.

If performing calculations proves daunting, there are many actions you can take including:

• Make lifestyle adjustments
• Save more money
• Spend more wisely
• Pay off car loans and reduce home mortgage (to improve cash flow in retirement)
• Defer major purchases
• Scale back vacations
• Downscale the house
• Move to a cheaper geographic area
• Go back to work or work longer