NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Is the idea of retiring keeping you up at night? Will you have enough money to live without working past 65? How much will it take to live comfortably?

Stop thinking and become an active planner, saver, and foreseer. Whatever your age, you can jump-start your retirement planning and make it work for you. Here are today's five tips.

There's been a lot of debate about social security reform recently that has probably left you wondering: what's the bottom line? President Bush told Americans during his State of the Union address earlier this year that the Social Security system would be bankrupt by 2042. If that's true, that means benefits are going to look very different for every American, especially as we get closer to that deadline.

What will your benefits look like? On www.SocialSecurity.org, you can calculate what your annual benefits would be under the current social security system. Remember, this is an estimate -- the amount could change if the current system is reformed.

But this figure will likely help you realize what many financial planners have tried to warn us about: Social Security alone will not fund your retirement. For example, a 35-year-old woman earning $50,000 a year who wants to retire by 67 will only get $23,272 in annual benefits. Sound like enough for your ideal retirement? Probably not.

How much money is enough to cover your golf habit through your younger retirement years and still pay for assisted living later on? It would be wonderful to have a crystal ball to plan your future.

Here's a formula instead. Walter Updegrave of Money Magazine says you will need about 75 percent of your current annual income for each year in retirement. For example, if you make $50,000 a year, plan to have $37,500 a year during retirement.

Baby boomers, if that $37,500 figure has you biting your nails, hold up a second. You're likely going to get Social Security to help foot some of that bill. But how much will you need overall?

Here's a back of the envelope way of calculating what you'll need, provided by Money Magazine, using the example above of a $50,000 salary. You went on www.SocialSecurity.org and saw your expected annual benefit will be $17,500. That cuts the amount you need to save for each year in retirement to $20,000. Multiple that figure by 20 and that's your total: You need to save $400,000 for retirement.

Why did we multiply by 20? That number represents the rate at which you'll take money out of your retirement (we're estimating 5 percent every year).

Does that $400,000 sound like a lot? Don't stress too much. If you have a pension or equity in your home, you can count that in your savings equation.

And for the baby boomers out there who have noticed retirement is staring them in the face: don't panic. Updegrave says you can still put together a healthy nest egg in 10 years by contributing the max to your company's 401(k) and contributing to a Roth IRA.

If you're late to the party, you might consider investing beyond the 401(k) and Roth IRA, which come with limits on contributions.

If you are younger than 50-years-old, you can only contribute up to $14,000 of your pre-tax earnings to your 401(k) this year. If you are 50 or older, you can contribute up to $18,000. As far as Roth IRAs go, you can contribute up to $4,000 this year, or $4,500 if you are 50 or older.

Think outside those traditional retirement investments and consider investing in real estate, mutual funds (bonds & equities), certificates of deposit, or money market accounts. With any type of investment, however, you'll want to do your research.

Gerri Willis is a personal finance editor for CNN Business News and the host for Open House. E-mail comments to 5tips@cnn.com.