No One Perfect Plan

Gazillions of retirement plans tend to fail because they lack what an observant analyst may cleverly term the “the three critical Os”—objectified, owned and opportunistic. In other words, they are not opportunistic enough, there is an inadequate sense of ownership and, lastly, the extent of objectification leaves room for improvement. But first things first. Let’s begin by stating the obvious—a “perfect” retirement plan cannot be defined quite precisely, primarily because the concept of perfection varies as wildly as the flora and fauna in an ecologically diversified forest. What is perfect for Tom could be, well, oh-so-imperfect for Jerry. Ergo, what we might look for in such cases are the traits of a decent retirement plan, one that covers all the issues that might be considered significant for the individual concerned. Such a plan, in my...