The five-year runway: what to check before you retire

The five years on either side of your retirement date decide more than the twenty before them. This checklist walks you through the numbers that matter while there's still time to act on them.

• The two spending numbers to write down before you look at your portfolio
• How to tell whether your balance is a plan or just a market
• Sequence risk in plain terms, and why timing changes everything
• The three-bucket spending plan that gives your money a job