Monday, Oct. 26, 2009

Hold Withdrawals Steady

Most planners allow for a 3% annual increase to your withdrawal rate in retirement to account for normal cost-of-living hikes. That makes sense in a perfect world. But if you're suddenly looking at an income shortfall you can fill a chunk of that gap simply by skipping the annual inflation adjustment for the next five years. Let's go back to the example where you had $1 million and lost a third of it the first year of retirement. By sticking to your original plan, only not taking an inflation increase for five years, you would swing the odds back in your favor. The risk of running out of money would drop to 40% from 60%. That's not a full solution, but it's a fairly painless start. You'd get even better results if you cut your withdrawals modestly or found other income and suspended withdrawals altogether for a couple years.

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Planning For Retirement: Your 60s

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