For decades, plain vanilla financial advisors have pitched a “4% withdrawal rate” as a retirement solution. Most were lazily stealing this advice from the smart, thrifty fellow who created the rule. The 4% idea is that someone with, say, a million-dollar nest egg could safely withdraw $40,000 per year and probably not run out of money before they die. Or, at least, have it last for 33 years. (And oh, by the way, they’d better hope that the financial poem keeps rhyming with a previous 50-year period. But I digress…) Not the most inspiring idea, I know. So why are we even talking about this today?… Read more