On average 21 percent of workers intend to work to age 66 or later, yet more than half of them fail to reach this target, according to a recent study from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. Pamela details the three most common reasons people are not able to work as long as they had planned:

• Health Shocks. People are forced to retire early due to existing health conditions or major health problems that they develop as they age. This is the main reason most people are forced to stop working sooner than planned.
• Employment Shocks are the #2 reason folks don’t work as long as they want or need to. They may lose a job due to a layoff or business closing and not be able to find a new job. Or they may find one that is not a good fit and be forced to quit.
• Family Shocks include a spouse’s employment or retirement, changes in marital status, having to care for a parent or grandchild, and other upheavals that make it unrealistic to keep working.

“Nobody thinks a forced early retirement will happen to them, but more than half of the people who think that are wrong,” Pamela says. She suggests three steps you can take today:

1. Assume you will have to retire earlier than you planned. “Chances are better than 50-50 that retirement will come sooner than you want.”
2. Save more each year, starting now. A new study by the Stanford Center on Longevity, recommends people save 10 to 17 percent of their income just for retirement.
3. Don’t risk what you can’t afford to lose. Having your retirement savings in stocks and other volatile investments is a recipe for disaster if markets collapse as you are preparing to retire or soon afterwards.

“Save a big chunk of your retirement money where it’s guaranteed safe against market risk and where you’ll receive competitive growth of your money,” Pamela advises.

About the Author: Pamela Yellen is founder of Bank On Yourself, a financial investigator, and the author of two New York Times best-selling books, including her latest, "The Bank On Yourself Revolution: Fire Your Banker, Bypass Wall Street, and Take Control of Your Own Financial Future." Pamela investigated more than 450 financial strategies seeking an alternative to the risk and volatility of stocks and other investments, which led her to a time-tested, predictable method of growing wealth now used by more than 500,000 Americans. Visit www.BankOnYourself.com.