Proper long-term financial planning requires time, skill, discipline, and confidence — a combination that many individuals may lack. It’s understandable that so many individuals are reluctant to take on the responsibility of researching and implementing their own investment programs. If you find yourself in this situation, it may make sense to consider working with a financial professional.

Maintaining a portfolio with a mix of stocks and bonds that suits your risk tolerance and time horizon, a practice known as asset allocation, has been a fundamental tenet of investing for a long time. Although asset allocation does not assure a profit or protect against loss in a declining market, investors who base their investment strategy on a target asset allocation may find it easier to stick with it when the stock market experiences significant ups and downs.

It’s important to understand the different asset classes and the role they may be able to play in your financial strategies.

More than half of women (53%) surveyed recently are the primary breadwinners in their households, yet only 20% consider themselves “very well prepared” with their financial decision making.1

A key goal of investing for retirement is making sure you save enough to make your money last throughout your lifetime. On this score, women may need to save more than men.

There are two factors that can determine whether you’ll have a comfortable retirement: The amount of money you’ve saved and how quickly you spend that nest egg after you retire.

When retirement was years away, calculating how much income you may need may have involved a lot of estimates. Now you can be more accurate. Consider the following factors:

After years of saving and investing, you can finally see the big day — retirement. But before kicking back, you still need to address a few matters. Decisions made now could make the difference between your money outlasting you or vice versa.

Calculating Your Retirement Needs