By Don Kuehn

Time was when people looked at retirement as the end of the line. Productive years behind, one need only to wait out Father Time and kind of kick back and see what life would bring.

Not anymore. With Americans living longer than ever, retirement, even at the "normal" ages of 62 or 65, is viewed by more and more people as a new beginning, a chance to experience all of the diversity that life has to offer.

For faculty, teachers and other education employees, full retirement after 30 or 35 years of work means leaving the classroom behind at an age that most people might call "early" retirement. Even with a few years off for child rearing, many teachers will be calling it quits before age 60Ñsome much younger.

In the 1950s, according to the National Institute on Aging, 82 percent of 60-year-old workers were still at their jobs. Today, that number has dropped to 64 percent. In the 1950s, 79 percent of 63-year-olds were still on the job, but that figure has plummeted to 43 percent today.

That leaves a lot of unanswered questions regarding how to spend "the rest of your life"--where to live, what to do, travel, hobbies, leisure activities and lifestyle changes. Life after work can last two or three decades (maybe more). A long retirement will be rewarding only if you have ensured your financial independence.

According to many experts the key is to prioritize lifestyle and investment decisions from the day you draw your first paycheck. Too late, you say? It's never too late. But, if you put lifestyle decisions ahead of savings and investment decisions, you will never create wealth.

One mistake people make when planning for retirement (no matter whether it's early, regular or late) is overestimating how well they'll be able to live after quitting their jobs. It's too easy to miscalculate how much income your investments will earn. When you're planning the next 30 or 40 years, a slight miscalculation can mean big changes in living standards later on.

Most financial planners urge people who are considering early retirement to be especially cautious. Aside from the vagaries of the investment markets, inflation can throw the most careful plan out of whack. Some state retirement systems have cost-of-living adjustments, making a portion of your retirement income "inflation proof," but your personal funds must earn inflation-busting returns. If you think you need $3,000 a month from your personal investments today, consider this: If inflation rises to just 4 percent a year, in 18 years you might need twice that much.

Retiring young isn't for everyone. Not only will you be giving up the income you'd be earning if you kept working, you also will lose contributions to your retirement system. For most people, there's also the loss of fringe benefits, which means you'll have to find, and pay for, your own health insurance.

If you draw your self-worth from your salary, your excitement from the hundreds of little victories in the classroom or the high esteem of your peers, you might have difficulty adapting to the non-economic aspects of retired life. Maybe it isn't retirement you want. Maybe you want a different job you can love.

But, if you've planned, saved, invested wisely, taken advantage of the miracle of compound interest in IRAs, 403(b)s and personal investments; if you have sacrificed some lifestyle choices to secure your financial freedom, retirement can be the beginning of the rest of a great life.