Editor's note:

This article is out of date.  A new version of this article can be found here

When you reach retirement, four major decisions will determine the bulk of your financial future. This article is about two of those decisions:

•    How much money do you need or want from your retirement portfolio?
•    Do you need a fixed income or can you tolerate a variable income?

Lots of people are tempted to ignore planning for their possible future health care needs. In this article, Laura Wood tells why this is a bum idea.

Paul Merriman once thought he knew the most important things about investing. But a few weeks in bed taught him some surprising lessons, which he shares in this article.

Late in 2006, we spoke extensively with six Merriman financial advisors about the shift from earning a living to being retired. The following article is composed of edited excerpts from these conversations. Participants were Cheryl Curran, Aaron Spencer, Tyler Bartlett, Mark Metcalf, Laura Wood, and former advisor Jim Whipps. Moderators were FundAdvice.com Managing Editor Richard Buck and Associate Editor Niki Hermanson.

When mutual funds report their results, it may look as if that's what their shareholders got. But in fact, many investors in those funds never got those returns. In this article, Merriman educator Tom Cock Jr. tells why. 

Sometimes the way to get ahead is to do what other people don't do. Though that is easier said than done, it's a key to successful investing, as Paul Merriman describes in this article.

The widely-watched Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 stocks is often regarded as a proxy for the U.S. stock market. But, as national radio host Don McDonald writes in this article, it's a poor proxy indeed. 

Lots of people are tempted to borrow from their 401(k). In this article, Cheryl Curran tells why this is a bum idea.

One of the most important decisions you make as an investor is where you place your trust. In this article, Paul Merriman discusses this issue and tells what he trusts.