All kinds of different views about retirement planning are passed off as fundamental truths, and in response, CNBC put together a list of six false retirement myths.

1. "The 401(k) was created to boost your retirement dollars." However, it was actually an obscure portion of the Revenue Act of 1978, CNBC reports. "It happened by chance — not by some deliberate congressional plan."

2. "You need 80 percent of your current income level in retirement." You may need much less. "The actual replacement goal varies depending on pre- and post-retirement lifestyles."

Editor’s Note: Obama’s Budget Takes Aim at Retired Americans

3. "You're too young to start paying for long-term care." It's best to do it while you're still working, according to CNBC. "The sweet spot is mid-50s to mid-60s," Jesse Slome, executive director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, tells CNBC.

4. "Don't ever touch your principal." That only applies to the very wealthy, who don't need to do so. For the rest of us, "it really is okay to spend your capital. That's what it is there for," Tony Webb, senior research economist at the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, notes.

5. "You can bank on your annuity." An insurance company failure could wipe out annuity payments.

6. "Retirement shortfall warning bells are waking up Americans." Instead, many remain preoccupied with the present.

Meanwhile, the move of many Americans to self-employment following the 2008-09 financial crisis apparently isn't doing wonders for their retirement portfolios.

According to TD Ameritrade's Self-Employment and Retirement Survey, 40 percent of self-employed Americans don't save regularly for retirement, and 28 percent don't save at all, USA Today reports.

Editor’s Note: Obama’s Budget Takes Aim at Retired Americans

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