The goal of investing for retirement is to have enough money so you will never run out for your entire lifetime. But how do you guarantee the cash you put away each month will flourish into a beautiful money tree that just keeps sprouting hundreds? And if it does grow forever, how do you ensure your family will have tax-free access in the future? Start by sitting down with your financial advisor to determine what you will need for your future, says Paul Palazzo, managing director of financial planning with L.J. Altfest & Company.

You may look at your portfolio today and think you have plenty of money to start giving out gifts to your children in tax-free amounts generally up to $12,000 per year if you are single and $24,000 per year if you are married. But your spending may change in retirement. For instance, while you are working, you may eat dinner every night at home and vacation twice a year. However, you may want to eat out three times a week and travel four times a year when you retire because you have unlimited time to try new restaurants and go on trips to exotic locales.

It's generally best to give small gifts to your children now and let them wait until inheritance time to get more money, which may or may not require them to pay income tax. This is because there is more than one type of IRA or individual retirement account.

All your IRAs can house your buckets of investments set aside for long-term retirement savings.

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