By Robert Brokamp

Human beings, it is said, are distinguished from our animal cousins (no slur against the in-laws intended) by our ability to plan ahead. While that may be true, it's difficult enough for most of us to plan anything just six months ahead, like summer vacation. So how on earth are we supposed to deal with something in the distant future -- like retirement?

In an effort to kick-start your retirement plans, we'll take a cue from the animal kingdom's "fight or flight" mentality and scare you into action: If you don't do something right now to assure your retirement, you'll end up living in an alley fighting the stray cats for your dinner.

Now that we've raised your hackles, let's use that surge of adrenaline to your advantage. As subscribers to the Rule Your Retirement newsletter know, retirement brings on a set of extremely complicated decisions -- many of them all at once. However, when it comes to The Eternal Truths About Retirement (I'm going to see about patenting that title), the rules are pretty simple. Below, on this single page in cyberspace, are the five retirement truths that will prepare you for the future when it turns inexorably into the present.

1. This isn't your parents' retirement.

Think back about 30 years. Individual retirement accounts (IRAs) were just being created. There were no such things as 401(k)s. Gasoline was free. (Or at least it seems that way in hindsight.) Older folks relied on the proverbial three-legged stool to prop them up in their golden years: Social Security, pension checks, and savings. Retirement didn't last too long because life expectancies didn't go far beyond the age of 70. The average male didn't even make it that far.

Your retirement will be very different. You will live longer, and you'll have a more active (read: expensive) lifestyle. Your parents may have survived on 70% of their pre-retirement income (perhaps you've heard this common rule of thumb?). But that's probably not enough for you.

2. No one's got your back. Sorry 'bout that.

If you put your retirement on that proverbial three-legged stool, there's a good chance it's going to collapse. Why? Let's do a little structural engineering and see how each "leg" is holding up.

Social Security: As of 2004, the average annual Social Security retirement benefit is approximately $11,000. In other words, retirees cannot live on Social Security alone. And don't expect that to change. As the baby boomers retire and put a strain on Social Security, benefits will have to be cut or taxes raised. For those in or near retirement, your benefits are pretty safe. (See? We don't have it out for the in-laws at all.) For the younger crowd, don't count on receiving all of the benefit estimated in the statement sent to you by the Social Security Administration every year, three months before your birthday.

Defined-benefit plans (a.k.a. traditional pensions): The amount you'll receive from a traditional pension depends, first of all, on whether you work for a company that offers one. Most of us don't. In fact, only 20% of Americans have such a benefit, down from 40% in 1975. If you are among the lucky one in five, the benefit you'll receive is based on your salary and the number of years you worked for that employer. Since we've become a mobile workforce, many people don't stay in a plan long enough to accrue significant benefits. The average annual defined-benefit payout is less than $10,000. Plus -- unlike Social Security benefits -- most benefits aren't adjusted for inflation over the years.

Savings: Of the three legs that may prop up your retirement, your personal savings are what you have the most control over. So while two out of three of those stool legs have some pretty serious cracks, this leg is as strong as you want to make it. Thd good news is that this one decision -- to save or not to save -- will have the biggest impact on the quality of your post-work life.

3. It's never too early -- or too late -- to warm up your nest egg.

You can brag all you want to your son-in-law about that 34-inch waistline you maintained through your 30-year high school reunion. Photographic proof is all you need to keep that young whippersnapper in line.

Same with savings scenarios. We can yammer all we want about the factors that affect the size of your nest egg. Instead, we'll regale you with a few pictures.

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