Ben Stein has worn many hats in his career: trial lawyer; economics teacher; financial advisor; actor; game show host. He's also written seriously about the markets for years and now he has added a new job, as an outspoken advocate for helping people figure out how to make their money last as long as they live. Wall $treet Week with FORTUNE co-anchor Karen Gibbs recently caught up with Ben Stein, and our Nov. 19, 2004 broadcast will include excerpts of their conversation. Meanwhile, here are portions that won't make the air:

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KAREN GIBBS: What about those of us that are past our peak earning years?

BEN STEIN: Well, I don't know what you mean by "those of us," because I suspect you're not past your peak earning years, but those of us who are past our peak earnings years have to save even so. We have to consume less and save more.

Look, people can save. People in America saved during the Great Depression. People in China who have one-fiftieth the gross domestic product per capita that we have save 40 percent of their income. We save roughly one percent of our income. It can be done. You don't have to have the latest big screen TV. You don't have to have a boat. You don't have to have a new car. You don't have to go on a trip to Europe or to the Caribbean.

You have to save. That's your main priority is providing for your retirement. That goes beyond any other priority.

GIBBS: What about looking at some of these alternative investments that you mentioned that may be more risky? You know a lot of people say that you should look at income.

STEIN: Oh, income is incredibly important.

GIBBS: And that's where the dividends come.

STEIN: Incredibly important.

GIBBS: But as we live longer, the lifespan increases, we need to have some of our retirement portfolio in growth.

STEIN: Well, that's one way to look at it. That's one way to look at it. Another way to look at it is we'll have it in dividends and we'll have enough dividends so that we'll have more dividends than our living expenses and we can reinvest those dividends and keep buying more dividend-paying stocks. That way you accomplish pretty much the same thing.

I'll tell you something else that people don't think about. If you retire at age 65 and you've been prudent and you have enough money saved up to provide for your retirement, by the time you're 85, the price level will have probably doubled and you're not going to have enough money to pay for your, all your expenses. So you've got to have when you retire enough money so that some of it, as you pointed out, can keep growing or else enough dividends so they can keep compounding so you can add to your nest egg and keep having enough money to retire on and live on after you're 85. Longevity expectations are so dramatically enhanced now above what they were even 30 years ago. People really can expect to live into their 80s with considerable certainty.

GIBBS: Last time you were here you also liked the (S&P 500) SPDRs and the Diamonds.

STEIN: And boy have they done well.

GIBBS: Do you still like them?

STEIN: I like them. They're higher than makes me totally comfortable, but I think for the long run, if you're in your 30s or 40s, by the time you're in your 60s they'll have gone up spectacularly.

GIBBS: Interest rates will also hurt the value of bonds in a portfolio. What do you think about bonds?

STEIN: I'm not a big a fan of bonds as some people are. I'm especially not a fan of junk bonds. I think the measurement of the yield of junk bonds is extremely flukey and not readily predictable. I've spent a lot of my life writing for Barron's about junk bonds, really a lot of my life. I became extremely skeptical about junk bonds. I'll probably get now a mountain of e-mail from people who are in that business telling me how much they hate me. But I think junk bonds might occupy a very tiny portion of your portfolio.

I think emerging market debt is better because it has a high yield and it also capitalizes on the fall in the dollar. I think REITs are better because they're generally more solidly capitalized, more reputable, and they will, their payouts will grow as the tenancy rises.

GIBBS: How about TIPS?

STEIN: You know, I did really well in TIPS a few years ago. I've had somewhat of a reversal of fortune in that lately as interest rates have risen a little bit. I do think TIPS should be in everyone's portfolio. These are Treasury inflation-protected securities. They increase the amount of your principal as inflation rises. You do have to pay tax on that increase in principal even though you don't actually get paid it until you sell or redeem the bond. But I think they have a small part. I don't think they have a huge part.

But I do love REITs, I love emerging market funds. I think there are a number of excellent products out there that pay very good yields, very, very good yields.

I mean I have a friend who's an investment advisor. He likes to say match assets with liabilities. And a liability that people are not taking account of is 20 years where you're not earning a living or you're going to have to live off your investments, and that's a liability which requires an enormous asset to match it, and people are just not doing it. They've got to start doing it.