Retirement income plans are not just for the wealthy. As you near retirement, the traditional strategy has been to move growth-seeking products to more conservative fixed-income products. This may have worked fine back when retirement was only expected to last five to ten years.

These days, however, people are living longer. It’s not unusual for someone retiring at age 65 to live to age 90 or longer. Consider that you may need to plan for your nest egg to last potentially 25 to 30 years.

Retirement planning is being prepared for life after paid working period ends financially as well as all other aspects of life. The non-financial aspects include lifestyle choices such as spending time during retirement, a place to live, designated time to completely quit working, and others. A holistic retirement planning considers all the areas with equal importance.

The level of emphasis on retirement planning varies throughout different life stages. During the youth, retirement planning only means setting aside enough funds for retirement. During the middle of the career, it might change to setting specific income/asset targets and taking the necessary steps to realise them. Once you reach retirement, decades of savings will pay out.