When you are planning for your retirement, you will want to take into consideration worst case scenarios. Market volatility can lead to you not having enough money to cover your basic expenses. To make sure that you do not run out of money and are forced to return to work, move out of the home you love or substantially lower your standard of living, you will need a retirement strategy for an uncertain future.

Have a Diversified Portfolio

You will want to save more than what you expect to need and you must have a diversified investment portfolio. Have money in stocks, bonds and in a savings account. When you spread your savings across several sectors, you will not have to worry about how market fluctuations will affect your savings.

Be Consistent

Place fixed amounts of money into investments regardless of how the market is doing, known as dollar-cost averaging. You will need help from retirement planning services because you may miss the opportunity of investing in an outperforming investment and you might increase your exposure to investments that are performing poorly. 

Be Cautious Five Years Before Retirement

While it may be tempting to invest and forget, you should monitor your investments before you retire and make sure that you do not overspend 5-10 years before retirement. At this point, you will want to look for investments that are more predictable.

Anticipate Higher Taxes

If you find that you have to pay a lot of taxes in your retirement, at least you know that you saved very well. But this can also raise your tax bracket significantly and can force you to pay a lot more money in taxes. 

One tax issue you will want to consider is the impact of required minimum distributions on your taxes. The RMD might also have an impact on your Medicare premium. RMDs can increase your taxes by making you appear wealthier than you actually are. Fortunately, you can avoid RMDs through Roth assets. You may roll over your 401(k) and then convert it into a Roth. 

Don't Invest Emotionally

Do not fall into the trap of emotional investing. When the markets are performing well, you might be motivated to pour more money into stocks and bonds, but you should instead stick to your original plan unless your financial adviser tells you otherwise. 

Expect Inflation

Remember that inflation is a fact of life and you must plan with inflation in mind. You are better off saving more than necessary with the anticipation that much of your savings will be consumed by inflation.

Contact a lender, like Dan Casagrande - Reverse Mortgages, for more help.