A financially secure retirement takes decades of preparation -- and many well-informed decisions once that time arrives. This month, we offer guidelines to help you protect your assets and make them work even harder for you. For starters, we offer details on reverse mortgages -- loans that allow you to use your home equity to boost your retirement income. We also discuss long-term care insurance and how it protects your assets when health insurance and Medicare run out. Finally, we discuss estate planning and how these important documents help save your heirs money and emotional distress.