First, sit down with your spouse or partner — if you have one — and your financial advisor and calculate your regular expenses. Those generally include housing, food, transportation and insurance as well as possibly charitable donations, education costs, travel and gifts.

Next, you’ll want to identify the income sources you can draw from to create a monthly “paycheck.” Your list may include a severance package, a pension and retirement accounts — such as traditional or Roth 401(k) or 403(b) plan accounts, and traditional and Roth IRAs — in addition to Social Security benefits and possibly even rental income and disability benefits.

Once you have a clear picture of your finances, your financial and tax advisors can help you determine an appropriate overall withdrawal strategy, based on your assets, age, income sources, tax considerations and other factors. If you’re currently spending more than your projected monthly retirement income, your financial advisor may suggest ways to help you adjust your finances — by delaying retirement or taking on part-time consulting work, perhaps, or moving the date at which you begin claiming Social Security benefits. You might also begin to look for ways to trim expenses in one area or another.

It isn’t enough to know how much you can afford to draw from your income sources each month. You’ll also need to think through the tax and investment implications of withdrawing money from each source, among other factors. Again, that’s where your advisors can help you understand your choices.

Social Security. Though you can generally begin collecting Social Security at age 62, your benefits will increase each year you wait, up to age 70. “If you can afford to delay tapping your Social Security benefits, you’ll likely have greater funds available later, when you may need them most,” says Koh. Still, sometimes it might make sense to consider claiming benefits sooner. For one, doing so might allow you to delay withdrawing money from your retirement savings accounts to give them more time to grow.

Lump sum or monthly payments? Pensions and some retirement packages may offer you a choice: Take a lump-sum payout or begin monthly payments immediately, or, if you retire early, delay those payments until the normal retirement age under the plan or later. It’s a good idea to consult your tax advisor on the implications of each option.

Taxes and your retirement accounts. When it comes to withdrawals from your retirement accounts, the rules can be complex. If, for instance, you leave your job during or after the year you turn 55, the rule of 55 generally allows you to tap your account under your employer’s retirement plan, such as a 401(k), without owing the 10% early withdrawal tax.

From a tax perspective, one option to consider is withdrawing from your taxable accounts first, then tax-deferred, then tax-free, though it is important to take your individual tax situation into account. This strategy generally allows you to maximize tax deferral in tax-qualified accounts, as the money in tax-qualified accounts is generally able to grow tax-deferred or even tax-free.

“Your financial advisor can help you determine the best mix of withdrawals,” says Merrill Wealth Management Advisor Lisa Kent. “As you create your drawdown plan, you’ll want to try to avoid landing in a higher tax bracket or derailing your preferred asset allocation,” she notes, adding, “When clients convert their retirement assets into cash, we generally help transfer them someplace liquid and secure until they need them.”

After you’ve addressed your short-term income needs, it’s time to review your portfolio to see whether it has the potential to last 30 or more years. In a low interest-rate environment, “an overly conservative portfolio is unlikely to provide the growth you may need for a longer-than-expected retirement,” says Koh — especially if you enter a period of high inflation. So you may want to consult with your financial advisor on the appropriate asset allocation mix.

While fixed income provides diversification and potentially offers a ballast to market volatility, “for purposes of growth, you should engage with your financial advisor to determine what the right fixed income solutions would be, given your risk appetite and tax sensitivity,” suggests Koh. For purposes of income, some alternatives to consider include dividend-paying equities, real estate investment trusts (REITs) and certain alternative investments for qualified investors² — all within a thoughtful diversification framework.

Diversification is vital, adds Merrill Wealth Management Advisor Mary Jo Harper. “The biggest mistake I see among retirees is a portfolio overly concentrated in the stock of a former employer or in one sector, usually the sector the client worked in,” she explains.

Finally, it’s a good idea to review your plan with your financial advisor regularly so that you can make adjustments depending on market conditions, inflation, personal goals and other factors. That way, you can take comfort in knowing you’re managing the retirement assets you’ve saved over your career in the most thoughtful way possible.