We all need a reality check sometimes-especially when we approach retirement.  Many of us will be without a pension, need long-term care and may not have the savings we really need to support 20-30 years in retirement.  The Wall Street Journal explains some of the lies we tell ourself.

"I'm going to get a pension-and it's safe."

Research published earlier this year by the Employee Benefit Research Institute found that 61% of surveyed workers anticipate receiving money from a pension in retirement. But only 40% of working couples currently are covered by such plans. And even though more and more companies, including giants like General Motors Corp., International Business Machines Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc., are cutting or freezing benefits, almost 70% of workers in the same survey said they were very confident or somewhat confident about their financial prospects in later life.