Workers in the final stretches toward retirement have had a rude awakening: The seemingly well-laid plans that they saved for during their working years probably won't pan out in their post-working ones. In fact, given the double-digit losses incurred in 401(k)s, as well as rising health-care costs, many fear that they won't be able to retire at all.

However, there are ways to salvage your retirement. While you may not recoup all your losses or get to retire exactly as you planned, you can lessen some of the pain that s been inflicted on your retirement savings.

After all, most people in their 60s still have some working years ahead of them or, at the very least, have enough savings to get them by for a few years until the market rebounds, says fee-only certified financial planner Sheryl Garrett.

Here are five steps people in their 60s should consider to bolster their nest eggs before they retire:

Continue Working

Sure, you've been dreaming of ditching the daily commute as soon as possible, but it makes a lot more financial sense to postpone those plans and punch the clock for another five years or so, says Garrett.

The added salary will allow you to cover your living expenses -- and prevent you from dipping into your nest egg. Plus, you can continue to add to that savings while allowing it to recoup its losses. The key is to give your nest egg more time to grow, says Christine Fahlund, a senior financial planner at T. Rowe Price (TROW) .

Should you retire before age 65, in most cases you ll need to fill in the gap between your employer s insurance and Medicare, most likely by buying private health insurance, which can be extremely costly

The added savings could also help you wipe out any existing debts before retiring. Paying off debts is crucial at this point, especially considering that high-interest credit cards and even car loans can cost retirees some $1,000 each month, says Garrett.

Maximize Social Security Benefits

Hold off on collecting Social Security past the age of 62 and you'll have a lot more cash in your pocket further down the road. For each year you wait to dip into that savings, your annual benefits will increase by about 8%, says Fahlund.

For example, a senior who could have started earning $17,772 in annual Social Security payments at age 62 could earn annual payments of $24,468 if they wait until age 66 to collect, according to T. Rowe Price.

Of course, it may be necessary for you to start taking your benefits at 62. If that's the case and you're married, dip into the benefits of just one qualifying spouse while leaving the other s untouched until their full retirement age. Click here for more on maximizing Social Security benefits.

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Set Up an Emergency Retirement Fund

So what happens if the market doesn t recover until 2012? Or worse, even later? That's where an emergency fund comes into play.

Ideally, such a fund will cover three to four years of living expenses, says Garrett. Start stashing cash into relatively low-risk and liquid accounts like a short-term CD or money-market account. Although rates are far from spectacular rates on one-year CDs currently average 2.15% while rates on money-market accounts average 1.49%, according to Bankrate.com -- you can still find several that offer up to 3% returns. Those returns will look a lot more appealing if the market keeps falling by double-digit percentages.

Take Consistent Withdrawals

If you absolutely must start withdraw from your nest egg, try to keep the amount of money you take constant for the first few years.

T. Rowe Price's 2009 retirement-income study found that new retirees who suffered a 30% decline in their portfolios in their first year of retirement have a much higher chance of their assets lasting over 30 years by holding their withdrawals constant meaning they're not taking annual inflation adjustments for the next five years. (Typically, retirees take a 3% inflation adjustment each year for withdrawals, says Fahlund.) By refraining from taking the inflation adjustment for the first five years, they ll increase the chances that their savings will last by 40% to 60% (assuming a portfolio with 55% in stocks and 45% in bonds).