Retirement is sometimes reduced to the question: “Do I have enough?” And while this is indeed important, it’s only a part of the story. Retirement is a transition, not the finish line. You shift from accumulation to distribution and management, with new risks that may have as much to do with how much you’ve saved as with how your system is structured.

This is where many plans fall short. People focus too much on balances and overlook alignment. As you near retirement, reviewing key areas such as cash flow, withdrawal strategy, debt and tax exposure allows you to spot inefficiencies and address them. Your goal here is not to start over or rebuild your finances, but to refine them into a cohesive, sustainable plan. Consider the following:

1. Rethink Your Cash Flow

Shift your mindset from net worth to cash flow and assess whether your income and resources can support your current and desired retirement lifestyle. Identify your baseline expenses, including fixed costs such as housing, utilities, insurance and healthcare, and separate them from discretionary and variable expenses, such as food, travel or hobbies. For example, if your fixed expenses are $3,500 and discretionary spending adds another $1,500, you need $5,000 monthly, or $60,000 per year.

Next, analyze your reliable income sources. If you expect $2,200 from Social Security and $800 from a pension, that’s $3,000 in monthly income ($36,000 annually). Comparing this to your needs shows that you have a $24,000 annual gap that you must fund from your savings or other sources. Say you have $800,000 saved; that gap implies a 3% withdrawal rate, which is fairly sustainable based on the 4% rule. But if the gap is higher, the pressure........

© Forbes