The parameters for the Retirement Plan are that you can use real information or fictional characters. Begin with a little history about the person or family (Age and stage of life). Next I would like to see net worth statement and a cash flow statement. Examples of these should be in your Personal Finance Manual. Third item would be goals, short-term, mid-term and long term. These are meant to help you choose different types of investments for different time frames.When those are all together, you will pick the investments that will help you reach your goals. These choices will be generic (growth stock mutual funds, high quality bond fund, money market account cds...etc.) Finally, how often should you monitor your portfolio and what changes should you be making to your investments.