The Good Life: Saving for Your Dreams

July 20, 2011 -- Travel, time with the family and volunteer work are some of the traditional perks of retirement, but there's another very modern picture, and that includes work.

Eighty percent of baby boomers say when retirement day comes, they'll still be on the job. In some cases, because they want to be and in others, because they have to be.

"I won't ever stop working," said Grant Aufderhar, 62.

Many companies now offer bridge jobs, full- or part-time work designed to ease the move into retirement.

ABC News polled dozens of financial experts and boiled down retirement advice to three crucial tips that apply to everyone, no matter what a person's financial state.

1. Make a Plan

"[People] wing it when it comes to either their day to day investments and even retirement. If you are a couple looking to retire together, make sure you sit down and talk about it together," said Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab & Co.

2. Follow the 4 Percent Rule

Calculate what you think you need for one year of retirement, multiply that by 25 and withdraw 4 percent of the total each year to live on.

3. Don't Take Social Security Too Soon

Seventy-five percent of baby boomers claim Social Security before they turn 65, even though the math does not work in their favor. If you are 62 years old earning $60,000 a year, you'd get $1,126 a month from Social Security, but if you wait until you are 70 you'd receive $2,123 a month.

AARP Social Security Benefits Calculator

Steve Dubner, co-author of "Freakonomics" and "Superfreakonomics," says waiting can be hard on the human psyche.

"If you ask children would you like one marshmallow now or two marshmallows in 10 minutes, 70 percent of the children eat the marshmallow now," he said. "If I say to you would you like $1 today or $3 a year from now, most people say I want the dollar today."

So what does it all add up to once you throw in tough economic times and a Congress debating cuts in Medicare and Medicaid? Keep working, something Aufderhar is doing happily, thanks largely to another huge trend, companies offering bridge jobs to baby boomers.