At 62, you can begin receiving Social Security benefits, but you might want to put off the party for a few years. You'll get much smaller monthly checks if you start drawing on your Social Security the day you qualify. If you wait for a few years -- or until you're 70, the current "late retirement" age -- your monthly take will be higher. The Social Security Administration has a handy calculator to help you decide.
Setzfand says retirement is different today than it was 20 or 30 years ago, so it pays to have your plans figured out before you start spending your savings and Social Security.
"You really have to think of it as an income stream," Setzfand says. "But don't just think about what you'll need for the next five years. Think about it for the duration of your life."
Depending on the kind of retirement you envision, you'll want to replace up to 80 percent of your income with retirement savings, Social Security and your pension.
"That money has got to last you," says Beth McHugh, vice president of market insight at Fidelity Investments in Boston. "You've got to plan for the long term so you don't outlive your savings."