“I have a retirement plan.” Most of the time, that’s actually a retirement account, not a plan. A real plan addresses five pillars — Guaranteed Income, Reserves and Insurance, Asset Growth, Tax Strategy, Estate — and crosses the Enough Line where more money stops being the answer.

Most of the financial industry is a sales business dressed up as advice. Here are six questions every pre-retiree should ask to identify a real fiduciary planner — fiduciary status, how they’re paid, framework, process, custodian, continuity — before you become someone’s commission check.

The conventional way to think about Social Security is “when do I break even?” That’s the wrong question. Here’s the rules-based Bridge Investment Test — with the marriage multiplier and the 15%/25% portfolio-protection guardrail — that protects your daily bread, your spouse’s surviving years, and your portfolio.