Unlike their parents' generation, fully 80% of boomers surveyed believe that they will continue to work during retirement, and only 16% expect not to work for pay at all during their retirement years. More than one in three (35%) expects to work part-time mainly for the interest or enjoyment work provides, while another 23% expect to work part-time mainly for the income.

Among those surveyed, more than two in three (69%) are optimistic about their retirement years, while 29% are not optimistic. Not surprising was that boomers' outlooks vary depending on how much money they're bringing in. Those with a household income of $70,000 a year or more (25% of all boomers) tend to be optimistic about their retirement. Four in five of them are upbeat. In contrast, of those boomers who make less than $30,000 per year or less, only half are optimistic about their retirement years.

Are boomers worried about being unable to take care of themselves? Not really. Only 15% expect that they will have "increased dependence on others for personal care." However, wealthy boomers are among the few groups who aren't scared about the future, says a new survey co-sponsored by the Employee Benefit Research Institute. Less than 25% of the 1,500 workers and retirees ages 25 and older surveyed are confident that they will have enough money to live comfortably through their retirement years.

In order to determine if early retirement is an option for you, you need to consider the following :

Your life expectancy and family history It all starts with your genes. Calculating how long you might live is an important part of retirement planning. An inherited illness or medical condition could pose a significant impediment to your early retirement. On the other hand, longevity could hurt as well. If you retire at 55, your asset base may need to support you for another 30 or 40 years. If you want to plan conservatively, develop your retirement plan based on the assumption that you will live 30% longer than the average life expectancy tables dictate. For example, if your life expectancy is 75, create your retirement plan as if you are going to live to 98 (75 * 1.30).

Health care
Make sure that yours is accounted for. Some companies are cutting health benefits for early retirees or switch their retired employees to an entirely different plan. In addition, retiring early may mean that you are too young to qualify for Medicare, making it very easy for a catastrophic illness to exhaust your asset base.

Pension benefits
If your company still has a defined benefit pension plan, it is most likely that your benefits will be based on your years of service and your compensation during your last few years of service. Retiring early may significantly reduce your employer's contribution to your benefits if you leave before you've reached your peak earning level.

Expenses
Just because you will be spending differently during retirement doesn't necessarily mean you will be spending less. Granted, your work-related costs, like commuting and clothing, may decrease. At the same time, other costs, like health care or traveling, may increase. An active lifestyle isn't cheap. If the purpose behind taking an early retirement is the ability to enjoy an active life style, you better make sure you've devised a way to fund it.

Many personal finance magazines purport that the average person will only need about 70% of his pre-retirement income to maintain his desired standard of living in retirement. This is one of the most absolutely ridiculous rules of thumb I have ever encountered. Why? Because each person's situation is dramatically different. In fact, many of the retirees that I work with actually spend in excess of 150% of their pre-retirement income once they are fully retired!

Inflation
Inflation can be a silent killer. Pundits have said that inflation is a thing of past, but that doesn't make it so. If inflation were to increase by 1 percent a year over the next five years, the rate of increase may be steady, but the percentage of your assets that is affected will grow at even a faster rate. Think of it as negative compound interest that eats away at your assets. Make sure that your portfolio is designed to account for an increase in inflation once you are retired.