The stock market has once again shown that the days of nerve-wracking volatility are not over. Economic growth in the developed world remains sub-par to say the least and many still believe that most of the stock market here is propped up with easy money from the Federal Reserve.

Every day we see articles about how so many of those in their 60s cannot stop working for at least another decade. Many of those approaching retirement age simply did not have enough money saved and were not prepared. This, combined with losses from the crash of 2008 and 2009, has left many people struggling to figure out how they might retire before they’re 65 or even 70 years old.

I recently had a prospective client come to me with an interesting case. He and his wife have $800,000 saved, half of which is in an IRA. He and his wife are both currently 45 years old. They want to retire by age 58 and they never want to worry about the principal. They only want to live off of dividends and/or interest income.

Most investors know by now that income planning in today's low interest rate world has become exceedingly difficult.

I spend a lot of time helping people understand how much money they will need to meet their retirement goals. Many of these people believe that they must have at least $1 million saved in order to retire and never worry about running out of money. Today I want to show that many people do not necessarily need $1 million or more to retire comfortably. I will show an example couple who is very concerned that they won't have enough money saved. They also fear that interest rates will remain low and they don't want to just put everything into equity funds.