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Charles Schwab has released findings from its latest quarterly retirement pulse survey designed to understand how pre-retiree baby boomers approach fundamental questions about when it's time to retire. According to the results, 46 percent of 50- to 60-year olds have a target date or age in mind, 38 percent have a target nest egg in mind, and 34 percent have neither of these.

To understand how people actually behave when it comes to subjective targets, Schwab also surveyed a group of retirees. Nearly half (47 percent) say they actually did retire when they reached their target date or age; another 27 percent said they retired once they had reached their financial target; and 38 percent of retirees said they had neither a financial nor date or age target in mind leading up to retirement.

"Although we tell our clients there really is no magic number -- in terms of age or size of nest egg -- for retirement, thinking about these targets can be a great catalyst to kick-start retirement planning and initiate an honest discussion about expectations," said Stacy Hammond, director of Real Life Retirement Services for Charles Schwab. "At Schwab, we encourage clients to be realistic about retirement and explore ways to make it work for them as individuals -- whether by adjusting timing, cutting back on expenses or continuing to work part-time."

Boomers and Social Security

Schwab's latest retirement pulse survey also checked in with baby boomers about their feelings on Social Security and found that, compared to the general population, 50- to 60-year-olds have far higher expectations for Social Security in retirement:

Counting on Social Security to supplement retirement savings: 55 percent of 50- to 60-year-olds vs. 37 percent of all Americans

Not counting on Social Security to be a source of income in retirement: 26 percent of 50- to 60-year olds vs. 46 percent of all Americans

"The traditional three-legged stool of retirement income -- Social Security, pension and personal savings -- has obviously changed dramatically," said Hammond. "At a time when life expectancy and medical costs continue to rise and the debate around Social Security persists, we want to help boomers focus on their own ability to save and find ways to adjust their retirement lifestyles to achieve financial stability."

Investors can find more information about how to reach their retirement goals on Schwab.com/RealLifeRetirement or by following Schwab on Twitter @CharlesSchwab. .

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