5 hard truths about retirement you need to face before clocking out on your career — are you as ready as you think?

It can be hard not to romanticize retirement. After all, if you've been working hard for decades, building a savings plan and diligently sticking to it, why not imagine the rewards at the end of the journey?

Still, some experts caution that reality can hit hard when retirement finally does arrive, and the misalignment of what you'd planned versus the actual day-to-day can be a bit of a shock.

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Getting realistic about what your retirement will look like can not only mean avoiding the whiplash some newer retirees experience, it can also help you build a more solid plan so that you feel fulfilled, happier and confident in retirement.

Here are five hard truths that you should acknowledge before calling it a career.

Traveling is one of the big dreams of retirement. In fact, some might envision retirement as one big trip with multiple destinations.