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You've done your homework and prepared for the day you turn 65. With the help of compound interest, mutual funds, tax shelters and insurance products you've reached your goal.Then you expect the hard-earned money you've put into solid investments to keep you basking comfortably in the light of those sunset years. But how long can you really live off the income of your retirement fund?Your calculations should reflect three important themes? inflation, taxes and longer life expectancies. And quite likely, you will have to consider asset protection as well in this litigious age.The world is constantly changing. Your retirement plans will have to be able to adapt to new realities. Demographic trends have been a primary reason for the instability -- if not bankruptcy -- of government-sponsored pension schemes in the graying developed world. Individual investors are faced with the reality of the social safety net being pulled out from under them, or at least severely curtailed. But also, longer life spans mean that an investor's private portfolio will now be burdened with the task of having to provide income and security for much longer retirement periods. Alternatively, there is a chance that you -- or your spouse? will live long enough to regret the investment mistakes you make with your pension funds.Longer life spans call for a radical change in investment thinking. The conventional wisdom of financial planning is that once you retire, you ought to invest heavily in fixed-incomeassets. This has become an outdated concept. If you can now expect to live 20 years after retiring, your investment horizon at age 65 should still be looking towards the long haul. Modernmedicine has made itworthwhile taking greater risks in order to increase returns on your investments. The alternative is to let inflation eat into them in the extra time you have. Inflation and demographics tends to equalize differences in investing strategies among pre-retireme