So many of the articles I read these days all seem to contain a similar theme, like this one from AARP News called “What Most US Workers Really Want.” People planning their retirement income are worried and struggling to reduce the uncertainty they feel about whether they’ll be able to “get by” in retirement.

I agree with the conclusions in the article that workers want easier ways to save for retirement, particularly by having amounts deducted from their paycheck.

However, the “workers” being referred to are not only millennials. They are also Baby Boomers approaching or in retirement. What they want is the security of the pension they gave up, as well as its ease of use.

That’s easy to do, if the various savings plans that replaced a company pension provide, at a minimum, default programs to convert those savings to income.

I designed that years ago in the form of the Retirement Management Account, described by Cerulli Associates (recognized experts in researching worldwide asset management and distribution trends) as the “quintessential managed account platform for retirement income.”

It’s what workers need and should want.

A USA Today article called “Survey: We’re stressed by retirement preparations – but doing little to prepare” echoed the concern noted in the AARP article, but revealed that that stress isn’t translating into action.

Perhaps that’s because they really don’t know what more they can do.

Opening the report on your retirement readiness from your financial services provider is like opening the envelope to find out if you were admitted to your first choice college or university.

It’s pretty stressful, particularly if the school or your plan was a stretch.

Financial service providers can reduce the stress, though, by reporting on the good news of what you’ve accomplished to date and offering steps you can take to make it even better.

While college admission is a “yes” or “no” answer, your retirement preparedness doesn’t have to be.

There are some basic questions that can dramatically change your retirement outlook.

  • Do your kids really need you to leave them a big estate?
  • Have you thought about using the equity in your primary residence for income?
  • Can the surviving spouse live on less money than two spouses?
  • Have you looked closely at possible expense reductions in retirement?