THE BEST WAY TO save for retirement is to diligently sock away dollars, starting with your very first paycheck and stopping only once the champagne is served at your retirement party.

Too bad it doesn't always work out that way.

On the road to a comfy retirement, many folks hit detours. Job loss, divorce, illness, disability there are myriad reasons why distant goals like retirement are often put on hold, while more immediate ones, like paying the mortgage, take precedence. In fact, even without a catastrophic event, many family budgets are stretched so thin that saving for retirement is simply impossible.

Whatever the reason, many baby boomers are just now waking up to the fact that they are underfunded for retirement. If you're 50-something and underfunded, it's time to take bold action. You must radically improve your savings strategy fast and perhaps adjust your expectations for retirement. But don't worry. With a bit of determination and creativity, your retirement can still be comfortable. Here are some tips.

Catch Up With Catch-Up Contributions

No matter what your age, it's never too late to start saving or to start saving more. Conventional wisdom holds that most folks should save at least 10% of their annual gross income. But those facing an underfunded retirement should try to save significantly more than that.

As an added incentive, Uncle Sam lets workers age 50 and older save more than younger employees. "Catch-up contributions," as they're called, allow older workers to contribute significantly more to their 401(k) and IRA each year. To see the good effects that maxing out your 401(k) will have on your future retirement stash, click here. And for more on 401(k) contributions, click here.

Don't Retire

Postponing your retirement even by a few years can have a huge effect on your retirement finances. Not only is each year an additional year to save it's also one less year that you need to live off your retirement stash. (To see how a few more years of work could affect your retirement, check out our retirement worksheets.)

Fact is, many of today's workers won't retire until they're physically unable to work any longer which very well might be in their 70s or 80s. But that doesn't mean they'll continue to work at the same job or even in the same industry that they toiled in during their prime breadwinning years. Many young retirees take part-time work, often serving as a consultant in an industry they know well, or maybe even working in a low-stress service job.

Still others use retirement as an opportunity to reinvent themselves, pursuing a career dream not yet realized. For example, it is more and more common to find 50-somethings in nursing school or handing out business cards for a newly launched business.

Relocate

A lot of folks are reluctant to move during retirement. But for those on a tight budget, it can have an enormous impact on their quality of life. This is particularly true for those people who have significant equity in their homes and little savings elsewhere.

While people who choose to relocate may talk about the lure of the palm trees and warmer climates, cold, hard economics is the most common reason retirees choose to relocate, says David Savageau, author of Retirement Places Rated. Moving from a high-cost area like Washington, D.C., San Francisco or Boston to one with a significantly lower cost of living can make the difference between a lean retirement and a quite comfortable one. "Why kill yourself in D.C. when you can live like a prince somewhere else?" he asks.

The key is to find a community with a robust economy, so jobs are plentiful for those who'd like to work, as well as an opportunity for an enjoyable lifestyle that includes nice scenery, access to cultural events and other retirees to socialize with, says Savageau. Some you may not have considered: Natchitoches, La.; Silver City, N.M.; and Murray, Ky.