An Overview of Retirement Income Planning

Retirement income planning has emerged as a distinct field within financial planning with the realization that risks change dramatically in retirement. The combination of longevity risk, increasing market risk triggered by taking distributions from assets, and spending shocks create new challenges. Wealth management has traditionally focused on accumulating assets without applying further thought to these differences happening after retirement. Retirees experience reduced capacity to bear financial market risk once they have retired. This calls for different thought processes from those typically included in traditional investment management. Risk pooling becomes an important retirement income tool combined with a traditional investment portfolio. Retirement income challenges and a framework for helping individuals develop more efficient and successful retirement income plans are discussed.