The Financial Cornerstone Podcast – Episode 44 – Burning Checks

**Key Takeaways:**
- Importance of guaranteed income through annuities.
- Risks of market-based retirement planning.
- Five strategies to avoid outliving retirement assets.
- Shifting retirement planning focus from asset value to income stability.

In this episode of the Financial Cornerstone Podcast, host Mark Kollar, a retirement and income specialist, discusses strategies to secure your retirement amidst market volatility. Mark responds to a listener's concern about retiring in a turbulent market by sharing insights from his father-in-law, a former firefighter, on the importance of insurance against catastrophic financial loss.

Mark emphasizes the value of annuities for providing guaranteed lifetime income, contrasting them with market-based investments that carry higher risks. He outlines the Government Accountability Office's five recommendations to avoid outliving your assets: saving more, working longer, investing wisely, delaying Social Security, and purchasing a life annuity.

The episode features a discussion on the Harvard Business Review's critique of traditional retirement planning and the need to shift focus from asset value to income stability. Mark advises listeners to ensure at least part of their retirement savings against market losses to maintain their standard of living.