Category Archives: Income Maximization

 

Decanting Assets: Turning a $1M+ Portfolio Into Retirement Income You Can’t Outlive

If you are an executive within a few years of retirement and you have built more than a million dollars in investable assets, congratulations — you have won the hardest part of the game. But accumulation and income are two very different skills. The strategies that grew your wealth are not the strategies that will reliably pay you for the next thirty years. “Decanting” your assets — carefully repositioning them from a growth-focused pile into a structured, guaranteed income stream — is how you turn what you’ve saved into a paycheck you cannot outlive.

The Problem With a Million-Dollar Pile

A large 401(k), brokerage account, or deferred compensation balance feels like security, but a balance is not a plan. Left as an undifferentiated pile of market-exposed assets, that money is exposed to three retirement-specific risks: sequence-of-returns risk (a bad market early in retirement can permanently damage your income), longevity risk (outliving your money), and the very human risk of being too afraid to spend what you worked so hard to build. For high earners, there is a fourth: taxes. Without planning, large required distributions can push you into higher brackets exactly when you least expect it.

What “Decanting Your Assets” Actually Means

Decanting is the deliberate process of moving portions of your accumulated assets into vehicles designed to produce reliable, often guaranteed, lifetime income — while keeping other portions positioned for growth and legacy. Done well, it answers the only question that matters in retirement: where does my paycheck come from, and will it last? Rather than drawing down a single account and hoping the math works, you build layered, intentional income sources that cover your essential expenses with certainty and leave the rest free to grow.

Building Your Retirement Paycheck

The goal is to recreate, in retirement, the dependable paycheck you had during your working years — and ideally a “playcheck” on top of it for the life you’ve earned. This is the philosophy our friend and Perfect Plan® guest Tom Hegna champions: cover your basic needs with guaranteed income first, then invest the rest for upside. We help executives sequence their withdrawals, decide which assets to convert and when, and design the order of income so that taxes, market risk, and longevity all work in your favor instead of against you.

Why This Matters Most for Executives Near Retirement

Executives often carry a more complicated balance sheet than the typical retiree: concentrated company stock, nonqualified deferred compensation with its own distribution rules, sizable 401(k) and IRA balances, and sometimes a business interest to unwind. Each of these has different tax treatment and timing, and the decisions you make in the five years before and after retirement are largely irreversible. This is precisely the window where decanting your assets, with experienced guidance, makes the largest difference to your lifetime income.

Hear It Directly: The Perfect Plan® Podcast

In Episode 3 of The Perfect Plan® podcast, retirement-income expert Tom Hegna, CLU, ChFC, CASL, joins us to explain how to decant assets and build guaranteed income for life. Take a few minutes to hear how it works.

Related Resources

• Retirement Paycheck Design: Where Should Your Income Come From First?


• Retirement Made Simple: The Strategy of Fixed Cash Flow Planning


• The Perfect Plan®: Engineering 100% Income for Life’s What Ifs


• The Immediate Paycheck: 3 Steps to Turn Your 401(k) and NQDC Into Guaranteed Income


• The $150K Income Cliff: How to Turn Your 401(k) Into a Guaranteed Paycheck

Ready to Decant Your Assets Into Lifetime Income?

You spent a career building your nest egg. The next decision — how to turn it into income you can’t outlive — deserves the same care. If you’re an executive nearing retirement with $1 million or more in assets, schedule a confidential meeting with Schiff Executive Benefits, and we’ll help you design a decanting strategy built around the retirement you’ve earned.

 

Decanting assets is one strategy within the broader discipline of creating income in retirement, which addresses market, sequence, longevity, health, inflation, and liquidity risk together.

 

For most executives and business owners, the "finish line" of retirement is less of a tape-cutting ceremony and more of a technical cliff. For 30 or 40 years, you’ve been an accumulation machine. You’ve maxed out the 401(k), stayed loyal to the Nonqualified Deferred Compensation (NQDC) plan, and watched the numbers on the screen go up.

But as you get within 6 to 12 months of the day the direct deposit stops, a new question starts to crawl into the boardroom of your mind: How do I actually turn these digital numbers into a monthly paycheck I can’t outlive?

It’s one of the "5 What Ifs" we tackle every day at Schiff Executive Benefits: What if you run out of retirement money?

Transitioning from a "builder" to a "spender" is a psychological hurdle, but it's also a massive technical challenge. If you don’t "decant" your assets correctly, you could end up paying more to the IRS than to your lifestyle, or worse, find yourself in the "Income Cliff", where your spending remains high but your guaranteed income is dangerously low.

Let’s simplify it. Here are three steps to building an immediate paycheck and realizing your dream value through Retirement Made Simple.

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Step 1: Inventory Your Buckets (And Watch the 409A Traps)

Before you can create income, you have to know what you’re working with. Most executives have two primary buckets: the 401(k) and the NQDC plan.

The 401(k) is the easy part. It’s flexible. You can roll it over, take systematic withdrawals, or use a portion of it to purchase a Guaranteed Income in Retirement vehicle.

The NQDC plan is the technical beast. This is where most people get tripped up. Because of IRC 409A regulations, your distribution elections are often set years in advance. If you chose a 10-year installment plan five years ago, you are largely locked into that schedule.

This is where technical expertise matters. Our founder, Matt Schiff, was literally "in the room where it happened." He helped draft these very laws (IRC 409A and 101(j)) in the early 2000s alongside Michael Goldstein as a member of the AALU’s NQDC Committee. We understand the "inside baseball" of these plans. If you want to hear more about that technical history, you should listen to Matt's discussion with Dan Hogans (formerly of the IRS Treasury) on The Perfect Plan^® Podcast.

The Strategy: Map out your NQDC payouts first. Since they are taxed as ordinary income and aren't usually rollable into an IRA, they will form your "First Wave" of income. We look at these as the bridge that covers your early retirement years while your other assets continue to grow.

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Step 2: Decant Assets into Guaranteed Streams (DIAs and Lifetime Annuities)

In the wine world, decanting is about letting the liquid breathe and reach its full potential. In retirement, decanting is about moving a portion of your "stagnant" accumulation (like a 401(k) or a brokerage account) into a distribution vehicle that guarantees a flow of cash.

For the immediate retiree (6–12 months out), we focus on two primary tools:

1. Retirement Income Lifetime Annuities

Think of this as a "Pension-on-Demand." You take a lump sum from your 401(k) or cash reserves and trade it for a monthly check that starts immediately. This is the bedrock of your Guaranteed Income in Retirement. It doesn't matter if the market drops 20% or if you live to be 110; the check keeps coming.

2. Deferred Income Annuities (DIAs)

If you don't need the money today but want to ensure you have a massive paycheck starting at age 75 or 80, a DIA is your "Longevity Insurance." It allows you to spend more of your other assets now, knowing that a "safety net" check is scheduled to kick in later.

By using these tools, we are Restoring Alignment and Retention of your personal wealth. You worked hard to retain talent for your company; now it's time to retain your own lifestyle.

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Step 3: Establish the "Paycheck and Playcheck"

The secret to a stress-free retirement is separating your money into two mental and financial categories: the Paycheck and the Playcheck.

• The Paycheck: This is your "Floor." It covers your mortgage, taxes, food, and basic healthcare. This should be funded entirely by guaranteed sources: Social Security, NQDC installments, and Lifetime Annuities. When your "Floor" is covered, the "What If" of running out of money disappears.


• The Playcheck: This is the money you use for the country club, the trips to see the grandkids, and the hobbies you’ve put off for decades. This comes from your remaining invested portfolio, the part that can stay in the market to hedge against inflation because you don’t need it to keep the lights on.

This is Retirement Made Simple. When you know your base is covered, you can actually enjoy the "Playcheck" without checking the S&P 500 every morning at 9:31 AM.

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Why Now? The Point of No Return

If you are 6 months from retirement, you are in the "Red Zone." Every decision you make regarding your NQDC distribution or your 401(k) rollover has permanent tax and longevity implications.

At Schiff Executive Benefits, we don't just sell products; we reverse-engineer solutions based on your specific culture and goals. We work as your broker with any carrier and integrate with your existing team of advisors (your CPA, Attorney, and TPA) to ensure the plan is seamless.

Whether you are a business owner looking for a Life Insurance Buy/Sell Agreement or an executive trying to navigate the "Income Cliff," we’ve seen your situation before in our nearly 100 years of combined experience.

Ready to Build Your Paycheck?

Don't wait until the day you turn in your keys to figure out where your next check is coming from. Sit back, grab your coffee, and let’s look at the numbers together.

Take the first step toward your "Perfect Plan" today:
Use our Business Valuation and Income Tool to see exactly where you stand and what your "Playcheck" could look like.

You've spent your career building value for others. It’s time to start The Perfect Plan^® for yourself.

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Learn more: See how decanting assets turns a $1M+ portfolio into guaranteed retirement income.

An immediate paycheck is one piece of a larger picture. See how the full process of creating income in retirement coordinates each of the six retirement risks into a single, reliable income stream.

Learn more: our complete guide to NQDC plans.

It is a universal truth in the corporate world that the higher you climb, the thinner the air becomes. You’ve spent decades building a career, earning a seat at the table, and commanding a salary of $150,000 or more. You’ve been diligent, too, tucking away $500,000 or more into your 401(k). You’ve checked the boxes. You’ve played by the rules.

But as you cross the threshold of 50 and start looking toward that 70-year-old horizon, a nagging question keeps you up at night: Is it enough retirement income?

The uncomfortable reality for high-earning executives is something we call the "Income Cliff." It’s the moment you realize that the traditional tools designed for the "average" employee, like the 401(k) and Social Security, are fundamentally ill-equipped to sustain the lifestyle you’ve worked so hard to build.

At Schiff Executive Benefits, we don't just guess at the solution. We reverse engineer it. Our mission is Restoring Alignment and Retention, and that starts with ensuring your transition from "working for money" to "money working for you" is guaranteed, not just hoped for.

The Math of the $150K Income Cliff

Let’s look at the numbers. If you’re earning $150,000 today, conventional wisdom says you need about 70-80% of that to maintain your lifestyle in retirement. That’s roughly $110,000 to $120,000 a year.

Now, look at your $500,000 nest egg. Using the standard "4% rule" for safe withdrawals, that account provides you with just $20,000 a year. Even if you max out your Social Security benefits, which replace a significantly smaller percentage of income for high earners, you’re likely looking at a total annual income of around $60,000.

That is a 50% pay cut on day one of your retirement.

Does that feel like the "Golden Years" you were promised? Or does it feel like a cliff?

This is where The Perfect Plan^® comes in. We don't believe your retirement income should be a math problem you hope to solve. We believe it should be a structure you design.

Beyond the 401(k): Retirement Made Simple

Most executives between 50 and 70, earning $150,000 or more and carrying $500,000+ in retirement savings, aren't looking for another complicated pitch. They are looking for a way to decant what they have built.

That word matters.

During your working years, your 401(k) lives in the accumulation phase. That is the saving season. The contribution season. The "grow it and hope the market cooperates" season. But retirement is different. Retirement is the distribution phase. That is the spending season. The income season. The season where your balance sheet has to become a paycheck.

And that is where many executives get stuck.

You may have done a good job accumulating assets, but have you built a system for decanting those assets into reliable monthly income? Have you moved from a maybe plan to a must plan?

We call this Retirement Made Simple, and it’s built on what we refer to as the "4 Fixes." In other words, this is the decanting process: taking a retirement account built for accumulation and repositioning it into a structure designed for dependable distribution and stronger retirement income.

1. Fixed Dollar Amount: You know exactly how much retirement income you are receiving.


2. Fixed Period: You know exactly when the payments start and how long they last.


3. Fixed Rate of Return: No more wondering whether market swings will wreck the plan or undermine your fixed income strategy.


4. Fixed Cash Flow: Your lifestyle is supported by a predictable income stream and more stable fixed income in the distribution phase.

That is the shift. From uncertain accumulation to intentional distribution. From a maybe plan to a must plan. From a pile of money to retirement income you can actually live on.

Securing Guaranteed Income in Retirement

Everybody wants growth when they are working. Everybody wants certainty when they stop. That is the real pivot.

Securing Guaranteed Income in Retirement is not about chasing one magic product. It is about building a retirement income structure that turns assets into dependable cash flow. For executives, that usually means taking the guesswork out of the distribution phase and replacing it with intentional design.

If your 401(k) gave you a solid accumulation story, great. But can it deliver guaranteed income in retirement on command? Can it create the kind of retirement income that lets you sleep at night instead of checking the market before breakfast?

This is why the distribution conversation matters so much. You are no longer just asking how to grow money. You are asking how to convert savings into retirement income that is predictable, durable, and aligned with the life you actually want to live. That is a different question. It deserves a different answer.

If you want a deeper look at how executives create Guaranteed Income in Retirement in Retirement Made Simple: Securing 100% Income for Your Executive Legacy, or how compensation limits can quietly shape the problem in Retirement Income and The $360,000 Compensation Cap, those are smart next reads.

The Paycheck and the Playcheck

When you transition out of your executive role, you don't just need to pay the mortgage. You want to enjoy the fruits of your labor. That’s why the Paycheck and Playcheck strategy is the core solution in this decanting conversation.

This idea has been championed by Tom Hegna, and it resonates because it is simple, honest, and deeply human. Tom has also appeared on The Perfect Plan^® Podcast, where the conversation centers on the same question many executives quietly carry: Do I actually have enough guaranteed income to never outlive my money?

Think of it this way: you are not abandoning your 401(k). You are decanting it. You are moving from the "save and see" stage into a structure that can create guaranteed income in retirement, so you never outlive your money.

• The Paycheck: This is your guaranteed base income. It covers essentials, addresses the "What If's," and creates the certainty most executives crave once they leave the accumulation phase behind.


• The Playcheck: This is the income stream that gives you freedom. Travel. Family experiences. Legacy gifts. Margin. It is what allows retirement to feel like retirement.

For the executive age 50 to 70 with meaningful income and meaningful savings, the goal is not just growth anymore. The goal is decanting assets into a sustainable retirement income design. The Paycheck and Playcheck approach helps turn retirement dollars into a coordinated spending strategy built around guarantees, flexibility, and confidence.

And that brings us back to the real issue. Not theory. Not illustrations. Not abstract planning language. The real issue is whether your accumulated savings can be decanted into a reliable retirement income system that answers the 2:00 AM worry: Will this income last as long as I do?

By using sophisticated tools like Deferred Compensation (NQDC) or COLI-funded strategies, we can help structure that transition in a way that aligns with your goals, your tax picture, and your long-term cash flow needs.

The Expertise You Can Trust

Why does this matter coming from us? Because we were "in the room where it happened."

Our President, Matt Schiff, isn't just a consultant; he’s a ranking expert who helped shape the very laws that govern these plans. In 2003 and 2005, Matt served as a member of the AALU’s NQDC Committee alongside Michael Goldstein, where he helped draft the regulations for IRC 409A and IRC 101(j).

When we talk about compliance, technical expertise, and deep-level plan design, we aren't quoting a textbook. We’re quoting the rules we helped write. You can even hear Matt discuss these regulatory inner workings with Dan Hogans (formerly of IRS Treasury) on The Perfect Plan^® Podcast.

In a world of "unstable" financial environments, wouldn't you rather work with the person who understands the blueprint of the building?

How We Bridge the Gap

For the executive between 50 and 70 earning $150k+ with $500k+ in retirement assets, the goal is often to decant money from a "tax-exposed" or market-dependent environment into a more "guaranteed" and usable income environment. We look at strategies like:

• Deferred Income Annuity (DIA): Especially helpful for executives changing jobs or preparing for retirement who want to lock in future guaranteed income in retirement. A DIA can create a predictable floor of retirement income later, which makes the decanting process far more intentional.


• Retirement Income Lifetime Annuity: Designed to help protect against downside risk while still offering market-linked upside potential with built-in "bumpers." In plain English, that means more stability than direct market exposure, with room for growth, stronger fixed income characteristics, and a better retirement income story.


• Long-Term Care solutions: This addresses the 2:00 AM question many people do not say out loud: Who will take care of me? Traditional LTC can feel like car insurance. You pay annual premiums, and it only pays if you have a claim. Modern asset-based designs can allow you to reposition retirement dollars into solutions that protect both spouses and help ensure the care burden falls on professionals, not your family.


• Split Dollar Programs: Using Collateral Assignment or Endorsement to provide massive benefits with minimal out-of-pocket costs.


• 401(k) Mirrors: Allowing you to set aside significantly more than the measly IRS limits on traditional plans.


• Restricted Executive Bonus: Creating "Golden Handcuffs" that reward your loyalty with a future guaranteed income stream.

The point is not simply to own more products. The point is to decant your retirement assets with purpose. To move from accumulation to distribution. To turn uncertainty into structure. To answer the question that really matters: Do I have enough guaranteed income in retirement to never outlive my money, and do I have a plan for care if life changes?

We don't just hand you a product. We work as a broker with any carrier and integrate with your existing team of advisors: your Accountant, Attorney, and TPA: to ensure that every piece of the puzzle fits.

Are You Ready to Fix Your Future?

If you are between 50 and 70, the clock is ticking on your ability to "fix" your cash flow. The "Income Cliff" is real, but it is also avoidable.

What keeps you up at night? Is it the fear of running out of retirement money? Is it the cost of replacing your current income? Whatever your "What If" is, we have a way to reverse engineer the answer.

Sit back, grab your coffee, and take a moment to look at your current trajectory. If it doesn't lead to a guaranteed "Paycheck and Playcheck" and dependable retirement income, it’s time for a different conversation.

Step 1: Get a clear picture of where you stand. Use our Business Valuation and Data Capture tool to see how your current assets measure up against your goals.

Step 2: Let's sit down and look at the blueprint. We aren't here to sell you a policy; we’re here to design your legacy.

Come join us at Schiff Executive Benefits, where we make Retirement Made Simple.

Learn more: Learn how decanting assets converts your nest egg into a lifetime paycheck.

Turning a 401(k) balance into a dependable paycheck is exactly what creating income in retirement is all about — addressing market, sequence, and longevity risk before the first withdrawal is ever made.

They say that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, but when you are standing at the threshold of retirement, you start wondering exactly which bush you should reach into first. For decades, you’ve been focused on one thing: accumulation. You’ve watched the numbers grow, checked your statements, and contributed to your 401(k) with the discipline of a marathon runner.

But then, the finish line appears. Suddenly, the game changes. You aren't just putting money away anymore; you have to figure out how to take it out without the tax man taking a massive bite or, even worse, running out of it before you run out of breath.

At Schiff Executive Benefits, we often talk about the five core "What If" questions that keep executives and business owners up at night. The big one we’re tackling today is the fifth: What if you run out of retirement money?

Solving that "What If" isn't just about how much you’ve saved; it’s about the design of your retirement paycheck.

The Story of Ruth: A Study in Transition

To make this real, let’s look at a case study we recently handled. Let’s call her Ruth. Ruth is a single nurse who spent her entire career caring for others. She’s been incredibly diligent, building up a solid nest egg. But as she approached her mid-60s, she felt a sense of paralysis.

Ruth had several different "buckets" of money, but no clear map on how to spend them. She was worried about whether she should take Social Security now or later. She was worried about her traditional IRA vs. her Roth. And as a single person, she was particularly concerned about the long-term: who would care for her if her health declined?

Ruth’s situation is common. Whether you are a high-level executive or a dedicated professional like Ruth, the transition from "saver" to "spender" is a psychological and mathematical hurdle. We needed to create The Perfect Plan® for her, one that turned her pile of assets into a predictable, sustainable stream of income.

Understanding Your Tax Buckets

Before you can decide where your income should come from first, you have to categorize your assets. Not all dollars are created equal. In the eyes of the IRS, they live in very different neighborhoods:

• The Pre-Tax Bucket (Traditional IRA/401(k)): This is where most people have the bulk of their savings. It’s "forever taxed" money. Every dollar you take out is taxed as ordinary income.


• The Tax-Free Bucket (Roth IRA/401(k)): This is the holy grail. You’ve already paid taxes on this money, so it grows and comes out tax-free.


• The Non-Qualified Bucket (Brokerage Accounts): This is money sitting in stocks, bonds, or mutual funds outside of a retirement account. You only pay taxes on the gains (capital gains), not the "cost basis" (the money you originally put in).


• The Cash Bucket (Bank Accounts/CDs): Highly liquid, but the interest is taxed annually. In a low-interest environment, this bucket often loses purchasing power to inflation.

The goal of Retirement Paycheck Design is to coordinate these buckets so you aren't paying more to Uncle Sam than is absolutely necessary.

The Social Security Tug-of-War: 62 vs. 67 vs. 70

One of the first questions Ruth asked was, "When should I start my Social Security?"

There is a lot of "conventional wisdom" out there, but "conventional" rarely means "perfect." Here is how we look at the Social Security timeline:

Age 62: The Liquidity Play

Taking Social Security at 62 gives you immediate cash flow. For some, this is a "protection" move. If you have concerns about your health or you want to preserve your investment principal during a market downturn, taking it early might make sense. However, you are locking in a permanently reduced benefit, roughly 30% less than your full retirement age amount.

Age 67: The Full Retirement Age (FRA)

For most people retiring today, this is the "baseline." You get 100% of your promised benefit.

Age 70: The Max Benefit

If you wait until 70, your benefit increases by about 8% for every year you delay past your FRA. This is a massive "guaranteed" return that is hard to find anywhere else. However, there’s a catch: to wait until 70, you have to live off your other assets for those intervening years. You are essentially "spending down" your IRAs or brokerage accounts to "buy" a higher Social Security check later.

For Ruth, we had to weigh the math. Does she drain her liquid investments now to get a bigger check at 70? Or does she take the check now to keep her investments growing? There is no one-size-fits-all answer, which is why a customized design is essential.

Beware the Age 73 "Tax Bomb"

There is a ticking clock in your retirement plan called the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD). Currently, once you hit age 73 (and moving to 75 in the future), the government forces you to take money out of your pre-tax accounts.

If you’ve been a great saver and your IRA has grown to $2 million or $3 million, those mandatory withdrawals can be huge. They can push you into a higher tax bracket, increase the cost of your Medicare premiums, and make your Social Security benefits more taxable.

We call this the RMD Tax Bomb. One of the primary goals of our design process is to "defuse" this bomb by strategically taking distributions before you are forced to, or by utilizing Roth conversions during lower-income years.

Managing the Silent Killer: Inflation

Ruth was worried about inflation, and rightly so. But we look at inflation through two different lenses: fixed costs and rising lifestyle costs.

1. Fixed Costs: If Ruth has a mortgage with a fixed 3% interest rate, her "inflation" on that expense is effectively 0%. The payment stays the same while the value of the dollar drops.


2. Rising Costs: Healthcare and general lifestyle expenses (travel, dining, gas) do not stay fixed. Healthcare inflation, in particular, often runs much higher than the standard Consumer Price Index (CPI).

In Ruth’s design, we ensured that her guaranteed income sources (Social Security and potential annuities) covered her fixed "must-pay" bills, while her investment portfolio was positioned to provide the "inflation-adjusted" raises she would need for her lifestyle over the next 20 to 30 years.

The Single Professional’s Risk: Long-Term Care

As a single nurse, Ruth knew better than anyone that "hope is not a strategy" when it comes to aging. Without a spouse to provide "informal" care at home, the financial burden of a long-term care event is much higher for singles.

We incorporated a strategy that looked at her assets not just as an income source, but as a reserve for care. By Restoring Alignment and Retention of her capital, we could ensure that if she ever needed help, she wouldn't have to rely on the state or be a burden on her extended family.

Designing Your Perfect Plan®

Retirement shouldn't feel like a series of stressful guesses. It should feel like a well-earned victory lap. Whether you are concerned about your own retirement or you are an employer looking at how to attract, retain, and reward the top talent in your firm by helping them solve these same problems, the framework remains the same.

We help executives and professionals navigate the complexities of:

• Deferred Compensation and NQDC plans.


• Tax-efficient distribution strategies.


• COLI (Corporate Owned Life Insurance) for business succession and key-man protection.


• Defusing the RMD Tax Bomb.

If you are wondering which bucket you should dip into first, don't guess. The difference between an accidental retirement and a designed one can be hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes saved and a lifetime of peace of mind.

At Schiff Executive Benefits, we specialize in helping you find that clarity. We invite you to explore our services and video library to see how we’ve helped others in your shoes.

Ready to talk about your specific situation?

Sit back, grab your coffee, and let’s start a conversation. We can help you design a paycheck that lasts as long as you do.

Ready to talk? Click here to schedule your initial meeting.

Restoring Alignment and Retention.

Disclaimer: This blog post is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice. Please consult with your professional advisors before making any significant financial decisions.

Learn more: See how decanting assets turns your portfolio into retirement income you can’t outlive.

Designing the right withdrawal order is a core part of creating income in retirement, where product allocation — not just asset allocation — determines how long your money lasts.