Money Magazine published a list of five ways retirees and those who are still working can reduce the odds of outliving their savings.

Those steps are:

1. Increase Savings: The single best defense against longevity risk—the risk of outliving your savings—is having a bigger nest egg. Even boosting contributions to retirement accounts late in a career can still result in a significant increase in wealth.

2. Budget Retirement Expenses: Having a budget of retirement expenses can provide insight on what can actually be spent. It may shed light on whether the new lifestyle is more expensive than thought. One online resource is BlackRock’s Retirement Expense Worksheet (www.blackrock.com/investing/literature/investor-education/retirement-expense-worksheet-education-va-us.pdf).

3. Estimate How Long You’ll Need Your Savings to Last: Rather than relying on a specified life expectancy age, consider the statistical odds of living longer than expected. The Society of Actuaries and American Academy of Actuaries’ Longevity Illustrator (www.longevityillustrator.org) gives such odds. This information may help you better assess how long you will need your savings to last.

4. Determine a Sustainable Withdrawal Rate: Once in retirement, you will need to determine how much you can withdraw each year. This amount should be a compromise between what you need for consumption and what you can withdraw without depleting your savings too soon. William Bengen’s rule of withdrawing 4% of savings and adjusting the initial withdrawal upward in future years is a good starting point. Allowing for variance in withdrawal amounts can help.

5. Assess the Need for More Guaranteed Income: Social Security provides the equivalent of annuity income. Those preferring to have an additional stream of guaranteed income can purchase commercial annuities. They provide the assurance of more guaranteed income, but they are not suitable for those with little savings.