First, develop an income plan. List all of your guaranteed sources of retirement income —pension, investment portfolio returns and income, retirement savings, investment accounts, such as a traditional IRA.
Generally, those who are younger are advised to invest more aggressively, tapering to more secure investments as they grow older. Safety comes at the price of reduced growth potential and the risk of erosion of value due to inflation.
Forecasting your expenses is a critical financial building block for retirement. How much you want to spend in retirement is one of the biggest factors driving how much you need for a secure retirement.