Don'ts of retirement planning

Don't withdraw money from your pension plan. This is a no-no of the highest proportion. There are potential withdrawal penalties and you lose all that valuable interest.

Don't rely on your social security for all your retirement needs.

Don't rely on your husband or wife's retirement plan. If they predecease or divorce you there may not be any retirement income.

Don't rely on your company stock too much. Enron. Need we say more.

Don't ignore your company's matching contribution plan.

Don't neglect overseeing your pension investments. No one is going to care more than you. Make sure you know whether your pension is doing what it should be doing, so you can make adjustments when you need to. Keep on top of your asset allocation as well as how the plan is doing in general, to make sure you will meet your retirement goals.

Don't forget to make sure your broker or financial advisor is on the up and up. Although there are brokers who are going to work hard for you, there are unfortunately many who will not, many who do not know what they are doing but will charge you as if they do, and many who do not have your best interests at heart. This is your future. Do not trust it to someone whose credentials you haven't checked out.