If you plan to retire sometime soon, congratulations! But before kicking back, you'll need to address a few financial matters. Decisions made now could make the difference between your money outlasting you or vice versa. When retirement was years away, calculating how much income you may need may have involved a lot of estimates. Now you can be more accurate. Consider the following factors:

The length of your retirement. The average 65-year-old man can expect to live about 17 more years; the average 65-year-old woman, 20 more years, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Have you accounted for a retirement of 20 years or more?

Earned income. Working during retirement, even on a part-time basis, can reduce your need to tap retirement assets for ongoing living expenses.

Your retirement lifestyle. Your lifestyle will help determine how much income you'll need to support yourself. A typical guideline is 60 to 80 percent of your final working year's salary, but if you want to take luxury cruises or start a business, you may need 100 percent or more.

Health care costs and insurance. Most Americans are not eligible for Medicare until age 65, and even then, Medicare doesn't cover everything. You can purchase Medigap supplemental insurance to cover some of the extras, but even Medigap does not pay for long-term custodial care, eyeglasses, hearing aids, and other ongoing essentials. For more on Medicare and health insurance, visit www.medicare.gov.

Inflation. Because the rate of inflation can vary over time, it's a good idea to tack on an additional 4 percent each year to help compensate for increases in the cost of living.

IWM Financial can help you determine a strategy that may help maximize your annual income while minimizing the impact to your overall portfolio.  Please contact Zach Ott at 735-1418 or zott@LPL.com for a one-on-one consultation.