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Top things to know What should I do first? How should I invest? The virtues of the 401(k) The IRA advantage When you switch jobs Make your nest egg last

Chances that your money will last until age 95 if you retire at... Initial savings withdrawal rate [1]  Age 55  Age 65  3%  93%  98%  4%  71%  87%  5%  43%  63%  6%  21%  38%   Note: [1] Assumes that withdrawals grow 3% a year to account for inflation and a portfolio invested in 60% stocks, 30% bonds and 10% in short-term bonds.  Source: T. Rowe Price.

NEW YORK (MONEY Magazine) - It's the ultimate income security: Save enough money to ditch the working world well before conventional retirement age. The more time you spend out of an office, of course, the less time you have to save, so you should figure out how much you'll need and follow a systematic plan.

Your costs won't necessarily go down when you retire, especially if you hope to do all the things you couldn't while working.

Figure out what you'll need using a calculator like the one at money.com/tools. To make your money last, start with a low withdrawal rate, say 3 percent of your savings instead of the 4 to 5 percent most planners recommend for 65-year-olds.

And don't rely too heavily on fixed-income assets, says Michael Falcon, head of Merrill Lynch's retirement group. The longer your outlook, the more equities you should have.

You'll want to hold off tapping your savings as long as possible, of course, and working part time can help. But you'll need to live on some of your savings.

The question is, which savings exactly? The order in which you dip into your various pools of retirement dollars is important.

You can start taking Social Security as early as age 62, but since you're guaranteed larger monthly payments if you wait until full retirement age or later, delay as long as you can.

So what should you tap? First draw on taxable bank, brokerage and mutual fund accounts. Next go to tax-deferred accounts like 401(k)s and traditional IRAs. You can withdraw money without penalty from 401(k)s as early as 55 and from IRAs at 591/2. You must start taking money from IRAs and 401(k)s by 701/2, but Roth IRAs have no such rule, so save them for last.

If you leave work before 65, when Medicare kicks in, and you're unable to negotiate extended health benefits from your former employer, you'll need to finance your own policy for a time.

That can be expensive. A study by Hewitt projects that 40 percent of your retirement income can be eaten up by health-care costs if you retire early. See "Tackling health costs on your own" for ways to reduce those costs until you're eligible for Medicare.

If you retire early from a company that still offers a pension plan, you'll have to decide whether to take it as a onetime lump sum or as monthly payments for life.

There's no easy answer. Pensions guarantee steady income, but most are not indexed to inflation, so your payments are certain to lose purchasing power as you age. If you take a lump sum, you risk investing it poorly.

Ideally, you want both: guaranteed income and a stash you can dip into as needed. The answer? If you have assets in addition to your pension, opt for the lifetime payments.

If not -- or if, like Keith Bruce, you're worried about your company's financial health -- go for the lump sum. If you do that, first roll it into an IRA to preserve its tax-deferred status. Then buy an immediate annuity from an insurance company, effectively creating your own pension. Consult with a financial planner (not an insurance salesman), or search for a policy at webannuities.com.

Next: Make up for lost time

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For more retirement stories, visit the Ultimate Retirement Guide

Money 101: Retirement