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"Retirement planning is a central concern for workers at all points along the extended age continuum. Not only is it a concern for workers on the cusp of entering the payout or distribution phase of the retirement life cycle, but it is also an issue of analysis and deliberation for midcareer workers and recently "minted" graduates of our educational systems who are new entrants to the workforce. The rationale for why there is universal concern with retirement planning issues across all strata of the demographic continuum is many and varied. As indicated in the previous edition of Retirement Plans, the private retirement system in the United States has undergone dramatic structural transformation. The shift of the nation's private retirement program from a system that was primarily defined benefit (DB) based to one whose emphasis is now substantially defined contribution (DC) based has meant an important altering both of asset management responsibilities and of who retains risks for funding deficiencies when investments fail to deliver anticipated returns. Likewise, the allowance for plan participants to self-direct investments within their employer retirement plans has meant that nonprofessional investors are now bridled with responsibility for determining their financial destinies amidst the fluctuating uncertainties of volatile and uncertain capital markets"--
