Page 116 - Ready Set Retire

Stephen J. Kelley

Figure 23 Results of 4% Rule assuming retirement in January 2000.
Over 80% depleted after just 15 years.

As it turns out, rates of return have little to do with income
planning success. Rather it’s sequence of returns that determines
success. Should you be lucky enough to have any down years
come late in your retirement, chances are much greater that
you won’t run out of money. However, should those very same
negative returns come early, they can be devastating. That
brings us to what your broker really doesn’t talk about and Ken
Fisher would rather burn in Hell than sell.

Why won’t they be honest with you?

The whole problem with market-based income planning is the
emphasis seems always to be on “market-based,” and not on
“income planning,” and rarely, if ever, on the client. It’s usually
about maintaining the status quo, keeping the money in the
market, and seeking work-arounds, such as taking less income

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