How much will you spend in retirement?

Retirement is a time to relax and forget the stresses of work. But that may not be easy to do if you have financial concerns. By planning how much you will spend in retirement before you retire, you can spend your time enjoying retirement instead of fretting about how you will afford the lifestyle you want.

The 4% Rule

One of the most well-known formulas for working out retirement spending is the 4% retirement rule. This rule is relatively straightforward: you add up each of your investments and withdraw 4% of the total number in your first year of retirement. In each following year, you adjust the withdrawal amount to take inflation into account. By following this rule of thumb, you will likely not outlive your funds during a retirement period of 30 years. For example, if your investment portfolio adds up to $1 million, you would withdraw $40,000 in the first year. If the cost of living increases by inflation of 2% that year, you would withdraw an extra 2% of funds in the subsequent year, and so on for the rest of your retirement years.

Caveats of the 4% Rule

The 4% rule is a great way to start calculating how much you will need for retirement, but it doesn’t suit everybody’s situation, and there are several caveats. For example:

·       Your expenses in retirement can change from one year to another.

·       The 4% rule assumes you increase your spending by the inflation rate, not on how well your investment portfolio performs or the composition of your portfolio.

·       The 4% rule uses historical market returns, and some experts predict stocks and bonds for the next decade are likely to be below the historical averages.

Determine Your Personalized Spending Rate

Although the 4% rule is very handy, it would be a big mistake to follow it to the letter. It is, therefore, advisable to adopt a personalized spending rate. That will be based on your specific situation, your investments, and your risk tolerance, and by ensuring you update your spending rate regularly. You can start to determine your personalized spending rate by asking questions like:

·       How long do you want to plan for? No one likes pondering how long they will live, but if you consider elements like your health, you can have a better idea of how many retirement years you will have.

·       What investments are you making? Different investments have different options. Stocks can provide potential future growth, but cash and bonds can add stability to your retirement fund.

·       Are you willing to change your lifestyle if conditions change? If you make simple changes like lowering the number of vacations you take each year, your retirement money will last longer.

Final Thoughts

Transitioning from saving to spending can be a challenging prospect. There is never a right answer as to how much you should spend during retirement, as it depends on your situation. The important thing is to use the above information as a general starting point and create your own plan as a general guideline for spending. Then, adjust that plan as necessary throughout your retirement period.