(FORTUNE Magazine) – Too chilly? Swim later. Better to ease back with Grisham's latest potboiler and a thermos of Jamaican coffee (or herbal tea--your choice), and wile away the morning hours while the sun warms the world. Such are the decisions and revisions that should fill your leisure years--small, pleasurable ones, not the thorny struggles over cash flow and expenses.

You really can ascend to this happy state, but it will take smart navigating and Olympian discipline. The blue waters of a blissful retirement come to those who plan. That doesn't mean you can't dream; it's just that dreaming alone won't get you there. Will you teach, consult, write a book, or just lap up those unused frequent-flier miles? Will you settle down on the breezy shores of La Jolla or in a campus town like Chapel Hill? Perhaps beside a fairway on Hilton Head?

These are all important questions, but not as crucial as the big one: are you saving enough to ever have such choices? FORTUNE's special retirement issue is aimed specifically at helping you start planning to make your dreams come true. We've got a smart strategy for putting your 401(k) in high gear, some fail-proof ways to sock away savings, and helpful prompters to get you thinking about how, and where, you'd like to spend your golden years. A horde of baby-boomers is heading toward those years, many with nary a nickel of surplus cash after meeting everyday bills--not to mention the cost of sending their kids to college. The ones who plan now will have the biggest nest eggs and the best shot at late-life careers and beachfront shangri-las. Sure, there are obstacles, but you can surmount them. Read and prosper.