As you would expect, the overwhelming majority of people who join the uniformed services do not retire from their respective service. That being the case, while the new blended retirement system is still in its infancy, it will come to have much greater importance in the future. (Download MOAA's Retirement Guide to learn how changes to military retirement will affect you and your family.)

Most employees in the corporate sector also rely on 401(k)s for their future retirement income. This means most people have to trust their investment skills to retire comfortably. Social Security benefits were not designed to provide a comfortable retirement, only supplement it.

To start down the road to investment success, you must assume responsibility and control over your future. Living for the present day, to the detriment of the future, is a significant setback under financial rules of engagement. Time is your greatest asset, so it’s in your best interest to start immediately.

In addition to adopting a future focus, you must recognize the widespread messaging we receive daily is a form of destructive indoctrination. As I see it, the financial service industry and the media do not properly educate consumers on how to invest and create wealth. Messages about house-flipping schemes, lotteries, precious metals speculation, stock options, cyber-currencies, and conservative savings programs will not lead to success. Too many of us are looking for a get-rich-quick plan. No such plan exists, even though daily messages keep telling us an easy way to achieve wealth is out there.

To succeed in investing requires a little knowledge and a lot of discipline. To paraphrase investor Warren Buffet, the risk is in what we don’t know. We are smart people, and we just have to apply some of our energy and time to our financial futures. You can do this!

Read about strategies, products, services, your benefits, and more on MOAA.org. Explore MOAA’s financial blog to build your knowledge base further as you invest wisely in 2018 and beyond.