Hoping to retire soon?

If the thought of retirement is no longer a distant pipe dream and you’re hoping to call it quits within five or 10 years, it’s smart to learn more about retirement and about savvy steps you can take now (or soon).

For starters, do you have enough money to retire? Take some time to estimate how much income you’ll need in retirement, then make sure you’ll have sufficient amounts coming in. Social Security is likely to be a critical income stream; set up or visit your “my Social Security” account at Ssa.gov to see how much you can expect to receive in benefits. Other income streams can come from pensions, dividends, interest, annuities, rent from tenants and so on.

If it looks like your income will fall short, consider pushing your retirement out by a few more years so you can save and invest more money. Think, too, about how you might be able to bring in extra money on the side — perhaps by tutoring kids or giving music lessons, making and selling crafts or even renting out space in your home.

Remember that you shouldn’t keep money you’ll need within, say, five years (or 10, to play it safer) in stocks — they can be volatile over the short term, and you don’t want to have to sell during a downturn. So as you approach retirement, move part of your portfolio into less volatile investments, such as bonds, certificates of deposit (CDS) or money market accounts.

Consider consulting a financial professional, too, to make sure all your ducks are in a row. Yes, that will cost money, but it’s likely that a good financial planner or adviser can save you much more than that. We favor fee-only advisers who don’t have the conflicts of interest that other advisers can have. You can seek some near you at NAPFA.ORG. You’ll also find a lot of sound retirement-related guidance in our “Rule Your Retirement” service at Fool.com/services.