Retirement is the topic this week on The Art 2 Aging’s feature podcast.

Specifically, the financial aspects of retirement that many fail to take into consideration.

Now, we have gone in depth in the past on what goes into a financial plan for retirement and it pretty much boils down to one thing: pay yourself first when you are a working stiff and invest wisely.

That means a budget and a good dose of self discipline to stick to the plan as much as possible.

But many of us know there’s much more to it than just saving and investing to reach some magic number; you have to consider long term healthcare costs, a retirement residence perhaps (very costly, these days); what it might take cost-wise, to stay in your own home as long as possible – those sorts of considerations.

David Conti, a financial writer who spent years with Fidelity Investments, the enormous investment fund advisory with nearly $18 trillion in assets under its management (gee, almost as much as Elon Musk!).

What David has done is to create something called the Retirement Fear Index which he updates each month to track changes in 10 different categories that directly impact retirement and retirement planning.

David and I get pretty deep in discussing retirement and its surprising hidden costs and it’s a must-watch if you are close to or already in retirement.