Without a steady paycheck from an employer, you’ll need to make the assets you’ve saved — along with Social Security and any pensions you may have — last throughout your retirement years. Here are a few tips to help you stay on track:

Develop a Plan

Achieving the right balance to help ensure your income needs are met throughout retirement requires a comprehensive retirement income plan that addresses:

• How you’ll pay for current living expenses without outliving your assets over time
• What asset allocation and diversification strategies will help your investments outpace inflation
• How you’ll help protect your assets from the impact of market volatility
• How to align your withdrawal strategy, budget, spending needs, lifestyle goals, and priorities

Diversify Your Retirement

How you allocate your assets across various asset classes during the retirement accumulation phase can have a profound impact on the savings you have upon entering retirement. However, once in retirement, your focus may need to include an allocation strategy designed to meet specific income objectives, including:

• Guaranteed income: To help protect against outliving your assets by providing steady guaranteed income for life through pensions and annuity products.
• Stability: Stable income with principal preservation to help protect against market volatility through fixed income investments such as bonds.
• Growth: Providing a combination of growth and income to help offset inflation through investments that can provide appreciation and dividend income.

Consider Working with a Financial Advisor

Developing your retirement income strategy can be a complicated process. Determining the optimal balance across guaranteed, stable, and growth strategies requires experience and deep knowledge of the financial markets. A financial advisor can help you create an income stream designed to support your lifestyle in retirement. Together, you and your advisor can help determine a retirement income strategy that fits your needs.

Review Your Plan Regularly

As your circumstances, goals, and the financial markets change, it’s important to review your strategy and investment portfolio regularly to help ensure you remain on track to meet your goals. Successful retirement planning begins with understanding how economic changes may impact your investments.

By taking these steps to mitigate potential investment risks, you can better help secure your future. With these plans in place, you may spend less time worrying and more time looking forward to your retirement years.