Let's fantasize a bit. Let's talk about lottery-winnings-type money. If you had $10 million to retire on, how long would it last? Why bother going through this exercise? Well, it's kind of fun, for one thing. And who knows, it might even actually apply to some people reading this.

Many of us know by now that the Social Security fund will not be able to pay out full benefits within 15 years. But there is news today that for the first time since 1982, the cost of the Social Security program will be greater than its inflows. This means that Social Security will need to use part of its $3 trillion fund in order to pay out benefits.

So what makes for an actually useful retirement planner? Let's start with your actual, live investment account data, updated regularly. A free calculator is at best a snapshot in time, whereas a program like ours will keep track of your investment accounts' performance and holdings over longer periods. If your mutual funds and ETFs change up their portfolio holdings, their anticipated performance (based on the asset classes they hold) will be automatically handled in WealthTrace.

There is more than one right way to generate the income you need in retirement. That may be obvious, but it's good news, so it's worth stating and spelling out. Each source of income has its pros and cons--and various mixes of asset classes that generate that income have their pros and cons as well.

Fees can be a killer to a retirement portfolio, and the problems compound over time. Many people investing in the company’s 401(k) plan have no idea what the fees are on the funds they invest in. They also have no idea if they are paying a 401(k) administrative fee.