{"id":1778,"date":"2025-11-04T02:57:20","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T02:57:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bearsavings.com\/blog\/?p=1778"},"modified":"2026-11-06T01:02:28","modified_gmt":"2026-11-06T01:02:28","slug":"why-the-4-rule-may-no-longer-be-enough-for-retirement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bearsavings.com\/blog\/why-the-4-rule-may-no-longer-be-enough-for-retirement\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the 4% Rule May No Longer Be Enough for Retirement"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The \u201c4% rule\u201d is one of the most well-known rules in personal finance. It tells you that you should only withdraw 4% of your investment portfolio balance in your first year of retirement. Then, in each subsequent year, you should withdraw that same amount (adjusted for inflation).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you follow this rule, you should never outlive your savings (according to the creators of the rule, anyway). For example, let\u2019s say you have a million dollars in retirement savings when you retire. Your 4% withdrawal rate would be $40,000 per year. In the second year of retirement, if inflation was 3%, you would increase that withdrawal to $41,200. You would continue to increase your annual withdrawal by inflation each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem with that? It assumes that the \u201c4%\u201d number is the golden ticket to an immortal retirement portfolio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The truth is, that number (and the old 4% rule in general) might not be sustainable in today\u2019s environment of lower bond yields, longer lifespans, and different market\/sequence of returns dynamics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some reasons the old 4% rule might fail and what to do instead\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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