Retirement means replacing paychecks.

The “silent generation” — and some “baby-boomers” — have been lucky enough to have three sources of income for retirement: Social Security, personal investments and company pensions.

We even used to refer to this as “a three-legged stool.”

Folks who were covered by a defined benefit pension plan and stayed with a company for most of their careers often enjoyed a guaranteed lifetime income equal to 40%-60% of their final pay.

Add Social Security checks and you had a sizable base of financial security, with personal savings/investments on top of that.

But that three-legged stool ain’t what it used to be, with defined benefit pension plans nearly a thing of the past (just 15% of private industry workers are covered according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Companies quietly terminated defined benefit pension plans in droves over the years, replacing them with defined contribution plans like 401(k)s.

While there are pros and cons to each retirement plan approach, it’s important to understand that companies transferred all the risk to employees.

Under traditional pension plans, benefits were clearly defined, and it was the employer who took all the investment and longevity risk with required funding.

With 401(k)s, it’s up to employees to make contributions, take all the investment risk and deal with how long funds will last during retirement — with employers usually making modest matching and/or profit-sharing contributions.

This leaves us with a two-legged stool. Add concerns about the long-term solvency of Social Security and our stool is even more wobbly.

Washington, D.C., continues to promise citizens that they will protect Social Security, but the trust fund is projected to become insolvent by 2033 (just eight years from now) unless something is done.

The good news is that there are several strategies to fix Social Security, including raising payroll taxes, lifting or eliminating the taxable income cap (currently no FICA tax on income above $168,800), gradually raising the retirement age (it’s already gone up to 67 from 65), or even means-testing benefits.

Most actuaries I’ve followed suggest a modest combination of the first three would greatly extend the system’s solvency.

And with more than 73 million Americans already receiving Social Security benefits, and nearly 8 million more added each year, it seems to me that even any talk of reducing or eliminating program benefits would be political suicide.

So, retirement planning these days boils down to looking at Social Security as a base with savings and investments playing a significant role in meeting long-term spending needs.

Here are some strategies for taking money out of your savings, personal investments and retirement accounts:

• Emergency fund. Just as while you were working, it’s important to have a safe and liquid account set aside for those surprises that life seems to bring. The old rule of thumb was to have enough to cover 3-6 months of spending.

• Required minimum distributions. Under current law, you will be required to take a minimum amount out of IRAs and 401(k)s when you turn 72.  Required withdrawals are about 4% of the account balance at age 72 — and increase as you get older. You have to take these or be subject to a 25% penalty.

• Investment income. Interest and dividends from personal (nonretirement plan) accounts can be used while leaving principal untouched. But it takes a lot of money to live on income-only with yields on fixed income around 4% and dividend yields on stocks typically at 1%-3%.

• The 4% rule of thumb. If interest and dividends are just not enough, you’ll have to eat into principle. But how much can you take out and not run out of money during your lifetime? There are some big unknowns — investment returns, inflation, taxes and longevity. For many years, studies suggested withdrawing 4% of the portfolio in the first year and then adjusting this for inflation each subsequent year with a high likelihood (but no guarantee) of success. Recent research has suggested a more conservative rate of perhaps 3.5% due to market return forecasts, increasing lifespans and higher inflation expectations. Note that this 4% spending rule assumes at least 50%-60% of the portfolio is in stocks, life expectancy of 95-100, and some willingness to adjust spending when markets perform poorly. Even then, there are no guarantees.

Planning is a process that requires ongoing review and adjustment.

If you’re lucky enough to have way more than enough to meet lifetime spending needs, you can think about helping family or the community — during your lifetime and/or when you’re gone.

If you find your situation a little “too close for comfort,” you’re going to want to be mindful about spending and regularly review plans to help you stay on track.

And if you really don’t have enough money to retire, think about working longer or even having a part-time job.

In any case, it’s prudent to go back to the planning table annually to make sure you’re still on the right path to meet lifetime financial security goals.

This is a PROCESS, not an EVENT.