'Road map' harder to read. (Marketplace: Life/Health).

Retirees will face more complex financial decisions in years that are more likely to require the help of a professional adviser, according to an analysis by Lincoln Financial Group.

The choices will be harder due to longer lives, a decline in defined-benefit or corporate-sponsored pension plans, and volatility since 2000 in the equity markets. In addition, future retirees are expected to have more active lifestyles, said Lorry J. Stensrud, chief executive officer of Lincoln Retirement, the annuities operation of Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. in Fort Wayne, Ind. "Americans are opting to retire between the ages of 50 and 62, a younger age than before," he said. "Because it's becoming more common to work during what has traditionally been viewed as the retirement years, we're seeing new approaches: Former employers may rehire and retrain retired employees to take on new roles with limited hours."

Increasing numbers of retirees are even returning to college or other formal study programs before returning to the work force, and Americans "might even enjoy two totally separate retirements," said Stensrud. Lincoln Retirement identifies these trends as the emergence of a "new retirement cycle."

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