With all that has been written about retirement planning, there remains a large number of soon-to-be-retirees who haven’t developed a strategy to transition from asset accumulation to distribution. What’s more, most of these individuals haven’t given any thought to lessening the risk of outliving their assets.

The key to creating a portfolio that will provide a lifetime of financial security is making the correct decisions about the allocation of funds within that portfolio. However, saying this, and doing this, are two very different things.

Consider the following five mistakes that sabotage most people's efforts to create their dream retirement:

* Failing to get the financial planning advice they need – Cost cutting efforts have caused many companies to terminate defined benefit retirement plans in favor of 401(k) plans. The most significant outcome of this shift is that employees are now responsible for managing their own retirement savings. To compensate for this, a relationship with a professional financial advisor is a must to help you assess your risk tolerance, establish short- and long-term goals, and decide what asset allocations are best suited to reaching those goals.
* Not repositioning a portfolio to weather market fluctuations – Instead of reacting to every twist and turn the market takes, individuals should be focusing on the long-term ramifications of their asset allocation.
* Overlooking the tax consequences of a big distribution – Taxable events, such as taking a large distribution for college tuition, retirement living and health care need to be planned. The consequences of taking distributions while you’re still working are much different than after retirement. The same is true for lump sum distributions versus installments over a predetermined number of years. It’s crucial that you examine the tax implications, and determine what tactics can be employed to minimize the impact to your portfolio.
* Failing to see the potential of annuities as a viable investment option – Baby boomers need to find financial vehicles that will provide a steady stream of retirement income, because they can’t rely on company retirement plans or Social Security. Annuities are one of those options. Some of the newer products include features like reduced or no surrender charges, a guaranteed floor that puts a cap on losses, and the ability to convert the annuity into funds for long-term care.
* Underestimating how much money is needed to cover medical expenses not covered by Medicare – Not being aware of medical expenses that aren’t covered by Medicare, and neglecting long-term care needs can seriously compromise the longevity of your retirement savings, and may result in your outliving your assets.

* Annuity withdrawals are generally taxed as ordinary income and may be subject to surrender charges, in addition to a 10% federal income tax penalty if made prior to age 59 1/2. The guarantees and payments of income are contingent on the claims paying ability of the issuing insurance carrier.