Retirement Planning Pitfalls

Retirement planning only works if the following assumptions turn out true:
1) inflation doesn't exceed expectations
2) bond yields don't fall below expected thresholds
3) stock market returns are steady and above minimum thresholds.
4) social security and pensions aren't under-funded
5) taxes won't rise
6) healthcare costs in retirement years don't increase
7) there are no disruptions during employment years
8) children and grandchildren are financially independent
9) assisted living or nursing home costs don't increase.

In other words, good luck.  Despite the fancy modeling and spreadsheet work, be careful with retirement plans, because most financial advisers don't account for all the variables.