100% of all retirement planning will fail to provide you a guaranteed lifetime income.

Yes, 100% is correct. Regardless of how big the planning company is, how lucky or smart the advisor is; none can guarantee you an income for as long as you live.
The best they can do is make some guesses about how much or for how long you could expect to get checks in retirement. Unlike Social Security and a company pension (not a 401k type plan) that can give you exact numbers, retirement planning including 401(k) 403(b), IRA, Roth, etc. can never give you any guarantees.
Let me explain where the confusion starts. There are two separate and distinct areas of planning, and the confusion stems from them both start with the word Retirement. Retirement planning is what you so often hear, and people assume it does more much more than what it really does. Retirement planning is what a new employee gets when he starts working for a company and needs to learn about his investment options, risk tolerance and dollar matching in the company’s 401(k).
However, Retirement “Income” planning is what you need to start about ten years before you want to retire. Note the word Income. Nearing retirement time you begin to say, “hay I have accumulated “X” amount over the years. Now how do I get my money paid out to me and maybe a partner without the fear running out?” Sounds like a reasonable question to ask- how much can I take out for as long as we are both alive. In all honesty, it is the only question that matters.
The retirement planning pros cannot give you an answer to that seemingly simple question that everyone asks. Why not? Social Security and company pension plans know to the penny how much you will get guaranteed it for life and if you have a partner for their life as well. How come your retirement planner cannot do the same? Unfortunately, there is no way to know, and they can’t even give you an educated “good” guess to any guaranteed amounts or length of time. You see investment advisors are prevented by laws from doing so.
If you can’t get those basic answers, then why would anyone want to keep their money there? No one would! People would run for the exits with their money, and the company would go out of business and lose multi-billions of dollars in commissions and fees. Unless those companies told you a pleasant and believable lie that is so convincing, you leave your money there while the company collects its commission and fees.
How do you make up a story that will convince people to leave their money with you? The first step is for you to believe they are the authority while spinning a story so deep it sucks you and your money in. The second step is to give you an answer to how much and for how long can I collect question. If they can’t answer by law then how do they do it? They do hypothetical case studies and make it look so factual that you believe it. Even though buried in the fine print they tell you it’s only a made up story.
All companies use Monte Carlo (computerized) projections to tell the story. These projections appear factual and predict (really guess) the chances your savings will last and not run out during retirement. Here is Monte Carlos’s main problem; it’s all bull! Because it is loaded with guesses about what inflation will be, past returns of some investment (even though it skirts what every investor knows “past performance does not guarantee future results”) future projections for portfolio growth, asset mix and a sustainable withdrawal rate with so many numbers in there it loses any basis in reality. (There has been so much academic research on what percentage you can take out of your portfolio without running out of money, it has been concluded they really don’t know what the safe withdrawal rate is). Now your retirement planner takes these assumptions and wishful thinking puts them into a computer, presses the go button and “viola”, your answer. From these “guesses and assumptions,” a factual appearing impressive report prints.
This report is what you are going to base the decisions for your retirement years. The best part is that because it looks official, this leads many to a false sense of security. I can tell you one thing, no matter which method, assumptions or numbers they use, the result you will get every time without fail is: “leave the money with us (advisor or broker), and we will manage it for you for a fee.” Unfortunately, you are left with no guarantees and possibly penniless following this advice. You need to ask your advisor direct questions about your money now. I have put together a list of 14 questions to ask as well as a helpful guide explaining each question and the highlights of what to look for.

