Guest columnist Bill Smith, CEO and founder of W.A. Smith Financial Group, discusses four structural drags that can significantly impact retirement outcomes. These include investment management costs, fund expenses and platform fees, which can cost retirees hundreds of thousands of dollars over a lifetime. Each issue is not about how these returns occur over time, but about when they occur. Poor timing, not poor investing, is often what derails otherwise sound plans. Without a coordinated withdrawal strategy across tax-deferred, taxable and other assets, individuals can pay far more than necessary.