Four Retirement Assumptions That Can Backfire
As inveterate watchers of sitcom reruns (and a real-life Felix/Oscar combination), my sister and I loved The Odd Couple while we were growing up. One of our favorite episodes featured a courtroom sequence in which Felix (Tony Randall) berates a witness to “never assume” and proceeds to use the chalkboard to demonstrate what happens when you do. More years later than I care to admit, the mere mention of the word “assume” makes me smile. But assumptions aren’t always a laughing matter, and that’s certainly true when it comes to retirement planning, where “hope for the best, plan for the worst” is a reasonable motto. Incorrect—and usually too rosy—retirement-planning assumptions are particularly problematic because, by the time a retiree or preretiree realizes her plan is in trouble, she may have few ways to correct it; spending less or working longer may be the only viable options.
Source: Morningstar, "4 Dangerous Assumptions That Could Hurt Your Retirement Plan," by Christine Benz, Nov 2, 2026.
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