Over the past ten years employers in the United States have been abandoning traditional pension plans for full-time workers and replacing them with 401K benefits or, sometimes, with nothing. Some pension plans were underfunded and went bust or are shaky at best, and changes in the laws governing pension funding have left employees victimized by mismanagement with little legal recourse.

The way we look at work has also changed radically. Employers now look to ‘turn over’ workers in about two years in most jobs, well before their new employees qualify for increased benefits, raises, or promotions, and most people starting out in the world of work expect this and plan from the start to move around a lot. ‘Up or out’ in two years is the new unwritten corporate rule, and though it might not be written, it is spoken openly.

That’s all fine if you happen to be 22, new to a career, and financially savvy, but what if you’re middle-aged, unlucky, or unfortunate? Many Baby Boomers are financially unprepared for a retirement that is just around the corner. For some, the rules changed in the middle of their game and they now have only partial pensions or no pensions at all, inadequate 401k or IRA savings, and lots of debt. Some counted on the equity in their homes funding their retirements, then got caught upside-down on home equity lines when the housing bubble burst. Some simply got lost in the increasing cost of everything, and now are looking at working far past the age of 65, just to make ends meet.

At the end of 2007, 18% of Americans had who had 401k plans also had outstanding loans against them, up from 11% in 2006, and studies have shown that most people are cutting back or cutting out their contributions to these plans entirely due to financial stress. This is a serious mistake.

If you are nearing retirement and are in this situation, you can take some basic steps to make a plan. Yes, it’s late, but as they say, better late than never. Consider the following list as a way to get started:

• Make a balance sheet. Total up your debts and your assets. Don’t forget to include property and personal belongings on the assets side. Be honest about your debts. Facing them is the first step to getting out from under them, no matter how late in the day it is.
• Make a budget. Yes, it’s boring and tedious and depressing, but do it anyway. What comes in to your budget in the way of income each month? What goes out? What do you spend money on? If you aren’t sure, carry a little notebook around with you for a week and write down every single thing you buy. This will in all likelihood shock you. Don’t pretend to do it, thinking you already know. Actually do it. Don’t judge yourself, just record every penny you spend.
• Review, with help if necessary. Do you own things you could comfortably sell to get rid of some of your debt? Are there things on your list of expenditures (your little notebook list) that you could do without in order to save the money instead? When I did the little notebook exercise, for example, I discovered I spend about $90 on tea, crappy vending machine snacks, and coffee at work each month. By bringing my own and forgoing that convenience, I was able to pocket that money instead.
• Seek legal help where appropriate. Is your debt-to-income ratio so hideous you can’t figure out a way to pay it back even if you live to be 150? Make an appointment with an attorney and find out what your options are. Sometimes you can negotiate the debt down, especially if its unsecured, and make a payment plan contingent on closing your credit line until you are back on track.

Once you’ve done this initial review, you can then proceed to make a plan to clean up your financial life and simplify so you can look at retirement. Your goal is to pare down your expenditures whatever it takes and start saving money, while looking for additional income. Here are a few possibilities:

• Move down. Can you move to a smaller, less expensive home and be happy? Everyone’s situation is very different, but if you are able to sell or are in a position to buy, this single step might solve a lot of your problems and free up cash that you can put away for when you do hit 65.
• Make more money. It’s funny, but most people don’t ever think of this option. Ask yourself if you are being paid what you are worth, and if not, ask yourself how you can get that amount of money. Maybe no jobs exist in your locale that fit your life experience and skills. In that case, what about self-employment instead of or in addition to what you currently do? Most people over 50 have gotten pretty good at something, and if you are not currently doing what you are good at, ask yourself how you can. Make your last working years as lucrative as you possibly can.
• Pay yourself first. Do you pay all your bills and get what you need and then save what is left over? That is completely backwards. Stop doing that. Figure out what you need to save for your retirement, put that away first, then find a way to cover what you have to pay for daily expenses with what you have leftover. This is where extra income, creative thinking, help with debt management, and selling off stuff you don’t need can be crucial. It may sound harsh, but no one is going to look after you except you. If you put retirement money away, you will somehow be here and be fed from one day to the next. If you wait until you have ‘extra’ you will never have what you need and you will . You come first, Citicorp comes last. Sorry, Citicorp.
• Network, ask for help. A lot of people are in the same situation you are. Talk to them. Find out how they are coping and ask about local resources for displaced workers, debt management, help with utilities, financial planning, and investment planning. Become a pest and a tireless advocate for yourself. Now is not the time for pride or modesty. Be bold about your abilities and open about what you need. You might be surprised by what develops.
• Write out your ideal retirement. For most people, retirement means they stop doing whatever they did for eight hours a day for most of their adult lives. Few people take the time to think about what they want to do instead. What are you looking forward to most when it comes to retirement? Is it down time? Travel? More time for hobbies and interests you have set aside while working? Can you do any of these same things for money, even ten or fifteen hours a week and be happy? Once you know what you want, you can begin to make a realistic plan to get it. If you don’t know what you want, then all those warnings about how you must have X amount of dollars to retire comfortably will intimidate you into doing nothing out of sheer hopelessness.

None of these suggestions are magic bullets. Like that annoying investment house TV commercial says, your retirement is as individual as you are. Only you can see where you are financially, where you want to be, and what you need to do to move from Point A to a blissful Point B.

The point is to get started. Don’t wait another minute. Quit reading this. Just do it.