[devodave]

After about 15 years of paying supposedly experts to manage part of my retirement funds, I am now returning to self-management of all of the bits. Did very well in my previous employer's retirement plan (1993-1999), but lost over 75% due to faulty info provided by my advisor when I moved to a managed investment company. Fast forward 15 years, a new investment firm, and my third advisor, and still have only recovered about 35% of my 1999 balance. My current employer, the Federal Government, has the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) which has been a great investment vehicle for me over the years. Five individual funds and five life cycle funds provide a mix that is easy to manage and make educated choices. I am moving my IRA back to the TSP, which is where it originated back in 1987. My Roth, started in 2003, has only earned about 7% since inception, compared to my wife's Roth that has earned about 40% over the same time period, so that is moving to the TSP as well. The TSP has provided me well since I restarted back in 2000. I certainly can't do much worse. The point of all of this is that one can and should take control of their retirement accounts to ensure they can afford the retirement that makes sense for them. Obviously, having investment firms work for me has not been the success I was looking for, but others have been very successful with help. Have a plan, enact it, and assess it at least annually to ensure you are on the path you want.