Baby Boomers are becoming aware that they are experiencing a different type of retirement than the previous generation. Compared to other generations, these confident and independent Baby Boomers admit that:+ They need more money than their parents' generation to live comfortably.+ Their generation is more self-indulgent than their parents'.+ They will be healthier and live longer.These boomers were born into the beginning of a long and prosperous world economy. Their children, who also grew up in prosperity had the luxury of their helicopter parents guiding them through their younger years. Now, as the world economy dips into a long period of economic recession, the Boomers approach their retirement years---while many still support their unemployed or underemployed adult children. For Americans planning for retirement, the past decade has been dreadful.Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index has lost an annualized 0.4% since 2000, compared with its average annual gain of 9.7% since 1926. No wonder only 23% of working Americans say they are very confident they will have enough money to cover basic living expenses in retirement, compared with 42% in 2010, according to a survey released in October 2011by Sun Life Financial.The oldest boomers, born in 1946, reached 65 in 2011 as they began retirement age over the next several years. Eight in ten say they plan to work at least part-time--and others envision starting their own business or working full-time at a new job or career--according to an AARP Segmentation Analysis: Baby Boomers Envision Their Retirement.Before retirement is the time to dream about what you would love doing--and--invest in that dream by being specific as to what, where and how to make your dream a reality. Now is the time to get smart by shaping your phased retirement and deciding how you want to live the rest of your life.