For the past year, we've been talking about "Getting Your Finances Ready for Retirement." But sooner or later, you're going to enter the ranks of the retired. So when the planning is over and the time comes to put your retirement plan into effect, what do you need to do then?

Although retirement is supposed to be the time to relax (for some people), becoming a retiree doesn't mean you can fall asleep and forget about your finances. Now the main thing you need to keep track of is whether your income in retirement is sufficient to meet your expenses. If not, then you've got a problem--and you had better take steps to correct it. To assist you in that process, we've put together a simple "Retirement Plan Maintenance Check." While it won't give you the kind of guidance that you might get from a financial planner, filling out this checklist should get you started on steps to get your finances back into balance.

Of course, the ultimate goal is to make sure that you don't run out of money before your retirement ends. These days, that's not as easy as it sounds. Chances are you're depending on what you can make from your savings and investments to supplement your Social Security. Until recently, the conventional wisdom was that you could be relatively sure of making 7%-8% a year--more than enough to keep up with inflation-- by investing in stocks. But after the big drop in the market over the past year (after losses stretching over the past decade), does that advice still hold?

Professor Zvi Bodie of Boston University's School of Management says the answer is a resounding "NO." He says stocks are simply too risky for retirees. And he says the current market situation only validates his long-standing position that the only investments that provide retirees with real inflation-protection are TIPS bonds (Treasury Inflation-Protection Securities). But others take a different view. Wealth manager Harold Evensky says TIPS bonds currently return so little that being totally invested in them would require many retirees to cut back on their lifestyles. And Pamela Hess of Hewitt Associates says ultimately, stocks will get back to their historical average--giving retirees' accounts the upside boost that bonds can't provide. (For more on this controversy, be sure to tune into NBR's Good Friday Special on April 10).

To sum up what I've learned over the course of this series: Getting through retirement is a financial challenge--perhaps the biggest one you'll ever face. The stakes are huge, and there's little room for error. So good luck as you turn your retirement financial plan into reality. (You'll need it!)