I see this time and again. People save for retirement, doing their best to guess what it is that they’ll need, and then are painfully made aware of the fact that they didn’t save enough and Social Security isn’t going to make up the difference for them.

Octogenarians Define a Successful Retirement

Don’t underestimate your lifespan: Over half (54%) say that when they were planning for retirement, they were not expecting to live as long as they have.

So, how do you get Baby Boomers to get to the successful retirement that octogenarians have defined?

My answer takes a lesson from “Back to the Future.” Think about what the older generation is saying and realistically put yourself in their shoes.

Do you want income that continues for life, guaranteed and deposited into your savings or checking? Or do you want to hear about the Dow Jones performance for the day on the 6:30 news, and hope that it’s in your favor?

Baby Boomers Hugely Underestimate What They Need for Retirement

People ages 55 to 64 who responded to the online survey said they expected to have about $45,000 in annual income in retirement. But the amount they had saved would only provide an estimated $9,129—a potential $36,371 gap.

The information presents a disturbing, but not surprising, result that most investors are way “undersaved” when it comes to retirement.

My issue with the study, though, is the more or less absolute certainty that describes how much income the savings will produce. For most types of investments, you simply can’t predict how much income will be produced with any degree of certainty. However, Deferred Income Annuities will turn that uncertainty into reality.

Rarely Used Social Security Loopholes, Worth Thousands of Dollars, Closed

This article refers to a proposal in the budget deal (worked out between the Administration and Congress) that shuts off a maneuver to enable knowledgeable individuals to receive more than the “actuarial value” of the earned Social Security benefits.

Only 100,000 have made this special claiming election, but I agree that reinstating this actuarial equivalence makes sense for a social program and enables other reforms. This principle actually underlies my proposal to reform Social Security and improve its financial soundness.