About 80 percent of Americans now work for small businesses with fewer than 100 employees. Today, 50 percent of working Americans have no pension, or defined benefits plan. Pensions are now the exception, not the rule. Generally the only people with pensions today are municipal workers—and even this situation is changing.

Most of us working Americans today have to save the money for our retirement on our own. We have to design our own paycheck in retirement. We aim to get to the end of working life with—we hope—a nest egg. But how do we create a “pension” for ourselves with this money for the rest of our life? How can we feel sure that our little nest egg will last as long as we do?

To help my clients answer these questions, I have developed and refined a process that helps remove the anxiety of retirement with anticipation: My Piece by Piece™ retirement income model.

In Piece by Piece™ A Commonsense Approach to a Secure Retirement, I unveil my process for retirement planning in language anyone can understand. The Piece by Piece™ model divides your nest egg into three parts, each with a distinct goal. By knowing there is a plan and understanding the commonsense approach upholding it, you can enjoy you retirement passions and live the life you’ve dreamed.

I invite you to join the Piece by Piece family.

Debbie Craig is the President of Craig Wealth Advisors LLC in Michigan. She obtained her BA in economics from Kalamazoo College and MBA from Northwestern University (JL Kellogg School of Management) and attended the International Institute in Madrid, Spain. She spent 15 years at General Motors and, since 2000, she has been an independent financial advisor holding designations as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, a Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist™ and a Retirement Income Certified Professional® (RICP®).