In my 25-plus years of experience as a personal money manager, I’ve found that people who succeed at retirement security follow certain steps to prepare for disruption.

1. Retirement is a transition — and moving from one state (working) to another (not working) and requires a heightened state of attention. Changes are coming that will affect not only your finances, but how you spend your time and how you interact with your spouse, children and friends.

2. Prepare for the change in advance. Consider the lifestyle you would like to have — and can afford. Think about where you want to live, how you want to spend your time, and how your children and grandchildren will fit into the picture. Then discuss how aging might lead to adjustments.

3. Do a situation audit that goes something like this: “My spouse and I will no longer be working. How will we support ourselves? How can we be sure that our resources will not only last a lifetime, in sickness and in health, but allow us to enjoy retirement? Can we fund our favorite causes? Can we leave a legacy?”

4. Do a cash-flow analysis. After you retire, your cash-flow management skills will determine whether you will be financially secure. Managing cash flow is more important than assets. Review your income sources, such as Social Security and pensions. If you need to create retirement income from assets, what is the best way to do that in your situation?

Then explore how much you are spending on the barest of living expenses — these are the minimum expenditures that you must make to survive, your essential expenses. Anything else you spend are discretionary expenses, such as charitable contributions, vacations, country club memberships, restaurant dinners, symphony tickets and gifts.

5. Obey coverage rules. The ideal situation is to cover essential expenses with guaranteed sources of income, such as Social Security benefits and pensions. Then pay for discretionary expenses when there is extra cash generated from your investments. If you can’t do that, you’ll need to consider lowering your lifestyle desires to fit the reality of your pocketbook.

6. Re-examine how you invest. You are no longer investing for capital appreciation. Most people need to add the goal of creating an income stream that will keep up with inflation.

7. Recognize that retirement finance requires more than investment selection. Retirement is an enterprise, much like a business. You’ll need to use a more comprehensive service model incorporating portfolio management (and taxes, estate planning and risk management).

8. Address social changes that will occur after you retire. What happens if you die before your spouse or you become ill or incapacitated, or if your spouse dies before you? What role do you want your children to play? What about the role of your financial, legal and tax advisers?

9. Engage your spouse as an equal partner. Before retirement, one spouse usually takes the lead in financial decisions. That has to change. Successful retirees realize that retirement is a joint venture between spouses, calling on both to share decision-making, planning and managing the financial team, comprising the family’s financial adviser, accountant and lawyer.

Julie Jason is a personal money manager at Jackson, Grant of Stamford, Conn., and an award-winning author. Contact her at readers@juliejason.com.