For people in their late 50s and early 60s, it's one of the most useful tax tools available, and one of the most misunderstood. Here's how it works, without the jargon.

Many things can and will go wrong in retirement, but the timing of when they happen matters almost as much as what actually happens. A bad stock market when you’re 85 isn’t fun, but a bad market six months after you retire can be a much bigger problem. That’s one of the reasons I believe the first five years of retirement deserve more attention than they usually get.