Are you part of the baby boomer generation that now is surging into retirement? Or are you a member of "Generation X," which isn't far behind? In either case, some traditional ideas about retirement no longer may apply.

For one thing, people now live longer than in the past, which means that their golden years will last longer, too. The average life expectancy for someone in the U.S. who now is age 65 is 84.3 years. And that number, which has grown steadily for many decades, is expected to go even higher.

Maybe the "new" 65 is 70 or even 75.