Retirement Plan

NEW YORK - When it comes to retirement planning, one size does not fit all.

Consider the basics when drafting a retirement plan--housing, transportation, routine living expenses and health care--but there are so many variables that putting together a plan cookbook-style is almost certain to create future financial problems.

"Retirement planning is highly personal, an actuarial adviser for in Hartford, Conn. "There aren't many rules of thumb." That means reading widely and working closely with a financial adviser to develop a detailed plan that fits your needs.

It's also possible to make unplanned trade-offs during retirement to hold on to what's important. For example, if you planned to live on caviar and champagne in retirement, you can easily cut back to hamburgers and beer, if that means holding on to the vacation home.

Remember that you can't plan precisely for a potentially catastrophic medical problem, which may change everything. Health care is the wild card, and planning based on current expenses may not cover future costs.

"If you don't understand the risks, you can't mitigate them and that means you won't have a comprehensive retirement plan," Weiss says.

For many, failure to plan for retirement stems from inertia. If you've come down with a chronic case of the do-nothings, time will soon kick you in the butt. However, following the pack can be worse than doing nothing. Don't buy mutual funds, insurance or annuities simply because a friend or acquaintance bought the product or recommended it.