To arrive at a baseline target for liquid reserves, I recommend that investors determine their annual in-retirement income needs, then subtract from that amount any certain sources of income, such as Social Security or pension income. The amount that's left over is the amount that the portfolio will need to replace per year; multiply that amount by 1 or 2 to help right-size your cash reserves. Retirees will also want to have emergency funds set aside to cover unanticipated expenses.

Question 2: Does the portfolio have enough growth potential?

Look at it this way: Cash yields next to nothing. Current bond yields, meanwhile, are a good predictor of what you can expect from the fixed income asset class; high-quality bonds are currently paying about 1% to 3%, depending on maturity. Given those numbers, it's easy to see how a portfolio composed of fixed-rate investments is apt to be decimated by inflation over time. To earn a positive real return over their 15- to 30-year in-retirement time horizons, investors have must venture into assets with a higher potential payoffs, especially stocks. That explains why my model "bucket" portfolios feature significant equity weightings, even for investors who are near or in retirement.

Question 3: Is the portfolio courting too much risk?

At the opposite extreme, retirement portfolios that are too heavy on stocks court sequence of return risk. That means that if a stock-heavy retirement portfolio runs into a lousy equity market early on, and the retiree spends from that portfolio rather than leaving the depressed equities in place to recover, the portfolio's sustainability over a long time horizon is imperiled. Not only that, but retirees with too-risky portfolios court more behavioral risks--that is, if their portfolios are too stock-heavy, they might be inclined to switch to a more conservative mix after their portfolios swoon.

Question 4: Does the portfolio have a well-thought-out drawdown strategy?

Withdrawals can make or break a retirement plan. Take too much and you risk running out of money prematurely; take too little and you risk not enjoying your retirement fully because you've underspent. The specific strategy you use to extract money from your portfolio--harvesting income, selling appreciated securities, or a combination of the two--can also influence your long-term return. Because drawdown/withdrawal strategies are so central to the success or failure of a retirement plan, paying an advisor for a second set of eyes on your approach can be money well spent.

Question 5: Is there adequate inflation protection?

Young accumulators don't need to worry too much about inflation-protecting their portfolios for a few key reasons. First, they're drawing from their salaries, rather than their portfolios, for income; workers generally receive salary adjustments to compensate for cost-of-living increases. Moreover, young accumulators usually have heavy stock weightings (or they should, at least); over long periods of time, stocks will usually deliver returns in excess of inflation.

Inflation is far less benign in retirement. While retirees may receive an inflation of adjustment in some of their income sources, such as Social Security, the real income they draw from their portfolios is diminished as inflation rises. To help combat that problem, retirees need to add inflation protection to their portfolios. Treasury Inflation-Protected securities and I-Bonds provide the most direct hedge against inflation; categories like commodities, real estate have also tended to generate positive returns in inflationary environments.

Question 6: Is the portfolio insulated from spending shocks?

Even retiree portfolios that are sensibly allocated and employ reasonable drawdown strategies can run into problems if spending exceeds expectations. Healthcare expenses in retirement can surprise on the downside; Fidelity estimated last year that a retired 65-year-old couple would spend more than $245,000 in retirement on various healthcare outlays. Even more sobering, the Fidelity estimate doesn't encompass long-term care costs.

Question 7: Is there a backup plan?

Last but not least, every portfolio needs a succession plan--a basic outline of what should happen if you're no longer able to manage your assets on your own. Enumerating all of your financial assets in a spreadsheet or other document is a good first step. Another aspect of succession planning is streamlining your investment mix and automating as much as you can: Not only will those steps simplify life for your successors, but they can also provide at least some safeguards against cognitive decline.

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