A Richer Retirement: Supercharging the 4% Rule to Spend More and Enjoy More

by William P. Bengen, Paul Heitsch (Read by)

Overview

In A Richer Retirement: Supercharging the 4% Rule to Spend More and Enjoy More, entrepreneur, researcher, and financial planner, William P. Bengen, delivers a straightforward, soup-to-nuts guide for maximizing your withdrawals from your investment accounts during your retirement. The author explains how you can draw heavily on your retirement accounts without spending yourself into premature poverty.

This book is a comprehensive roadmap to constructing your personal retirement withdrawal plan. You'll learn how to compute a low-risk maximum withdrawal rate so that you can enjoy your retirement savings to the utmost. You'll also discover guidance on why and how to adjust your withdrawals during retirement to help make sure that your accounts last your entire life.

You'll also find:

● The eight elements of a comprehensive personal retirement withdrawal plan

● Techniques for selecting your withdrawal rate based on the eight elements, inflation, and stock market valuation

● A template for your withdrawal plan that will help you recognize if you're overspending (or underspending!) and exactly how to address that issue

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798228630086
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	09/30/2025
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 5.70(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

William P. Bengen received a BS from MIT in aeronautics and astronautics and an MS from the College for Financial Planning. He has had four careers: trained as an aerospace engineer, CEO of his family's soft drink bottling business (New York), fee-only financial planning practitioner (California), and currently a financial researcher and aspiring novelist (Arizona). He is a former CFP® licensee. In the early 1990s, in response to client questions, Mr. Bengen began research on the sustainability of withdrawals from stock and bond portfolios, which gave rise to the so-called "4% Rule." He is frequently quoted in major financial publications, and appears regularly on financial industry podcasts. In 2014 he received NAPFA's Robert J. Underwood Distinguished Service Award and in 2017 the Investment News Innovators Award. In 2023 he was awarded the Inside Information Iconoclast Award. He currently lives in SaddleBrooke, Arizona, where he continues his research into the "4% Rule."

Paul Heitsch has been narrating audiobooks since 2011, after having worked as a pianist, composer, recording engineer, producer, and sound designer for many years. His work is often cited for the authenticity he brings to the narrative and characters he portrays, as well as his versatility, and clear, smooth delivery. He has been a presenter at several webinars and seminars for the Audiobook Publishing Association and SAG-AFTRA.

Table of Contents

Introduction xvii

Acknowledgments xxi

Chapter 1 The Problem: Outliving Your Retirement Savings 1

1.1 Portfolio Longevity, Bear Markets, and Inflation 2

1.2 My Research Methodology 7

1.3 Genesis of the “4% Rule” 10

1.4 Recent Research 12

1.5 The “Balloon” Analogy 13

Chapter 2 The Solution: Introducing “safemax” 15

2.1 The “Universal SAFEMAX” 15

2.2 A Brief History of the Universal SAFEMAX 18

2.3 Over-Use of the Universal SAFEMAX 19

2.4 “Feeling Lucky” Method for Selecting a Personal SAFEMAX 22

2.5 SAFEMAX and Stock Valuations: The “Kitces Chart” 24

2.6 Inflation and SAFEMAX 27

2.7 How Well Does Our SAFEMAX “Fitted Curve” Agree With History? 36

Chapter 3 THE Eight ELEMENTS OF A PERSONAL RETIREMENT Withdrawal Plan 39

3.1 Element #1: Withdrawal Scheme 40

3.2 Element #2: Planning Horizon 41

3.3 Element #3: Taxable Vs. Non-Taxable Portfolios 42

3.4 Element #4: Leaving a Legacy to Heirs 43

3.5 Element #5: Asset Allocation 43

3.6 Element #6: Portfolio Rebalancing Frequency 44

3.7 Element #7: The Superinvestor: Striving for Above-Market Returns 44

3.8 Element #8: Withdrawal Timing 45

3.9 The “Standard Configuration” for the “4.7% Rule” 45

Chapter 4 Element #1: Withdrawal Schemes 47

4.1 “COLA” Withdrawal Scheme 47

4.2 “Fixed Annuity” Withdrawal Scheme 48

4.3 “Fixed Percentage” Withdrawal Scheme 54

4.4 “Front-Loaded” Withdrawal Scheme 65

4.5 Performance-Based Withdrawal Schemes 68

4.6 David Blanchett’s Retirement “Smile” 75

Chapter 5 Element #2: Planning Horizon 79

5.1 Life Expectancy and Planning Horizon 79

5.2 Universal SAFEMAX Vs. Planning Horizon (Standard Configuration) 80

5.3 SAFEMAX Vs. Planning Horizon (Other Sample Retirees) 82

5.4 Conclusion 85

Chapter 6 Element #3: Taxable Vs. Non-taxable Portfolios 87

6.1 My Initial Dilemma 88

6.2 Investment Characteristics 89

6.3 SAFEMAX and Portfolio Tax Rates 90

6.4 Which PTR Do I Use for My Portfolio? 93

Chapter 7 Element #4: Leaving a Legacy to Your Heirs 95

7.1 SAFEMAX Vs. Legacy for the Standard Configuration 96

7.2 SAFEMAX Vs. Real and Nominal Legacy 97

7.3 SAFEMAX Vs. Legacy for Other Sample Retirees 98

7.4 Conclusion 101

Chapter 8 Element #5: Asset Allocation 103

8.1 The Significance of Asset Allocation 103

8.2 SAFEMAX Vs. Asset Allocation: A Historical Perspective 104

8.3 Which Asset Allocation Is Right for Me? 110

8.4 Treasury Bills Vs. US Government Bonds: What’s the Optimum Mix? 111

8.5 How Do I Allocate Among Multiple Stock Asset Classes? 115

8.6 Even More Asset Classes? 117

8.7 Exotica: Alice in Assetland 118

8.8 Optimum Asset Allocation Vs. Planning Horizon 127

8.9 Varying Equity Allocation During Retirement: Is It Effective? 131

Chapter 9 Element #6: Portfolio Rebalancing 137

9.1 SAFEMAX Vs. Portfolio Rebalancing Interval 138

9.2 Portfolio Rebalancing Vs. Glidepath Investing 143

9.3 Rebalancing and Portfolio Returns 144

Chapter 10 Element #7: the “superinvestor” – Striving for Above-market Returns 149

Chapter 11 Element #8: Timing of Withdrawals 155

Chapter 12 Creating and Managing a Personal Retirement Withdrawal Plan (five Case Studies) 159

12.1 Withdrawal Plan #1 160

12.2 The Current Withdrawal Rate, a Powerful Tool 162

12.3 The Synthetic CWR Template 164

12.4 Synthetic CWR Template for Retiree #1 166

12.5 Managing a Personal Withdrawal Plan 167

12.6 Managing Withdrawal Plan #1 (Early Bear Market) 169

12.7 Withdrawal Plan #2 171

12.8 Managing Withdrawal Plan #2: Unexpected High Inflation 174

12.9 Withdrawal Plan #3 180

12.10 Managing Withdrawal Plan #3 (Front-Loaded Withdrawal Scheme) 188

12.11 Withdrawal Plan #4 191

12.12 Managing Withdrawal Plan #4 (Saving the Best for Later) 193

12.13 Withdrawal Plan #5 197

12.14 Managing Withdrawal Plan #5 (Changing Horses Mid-Stream) 200

Chapter 13 Topics of Special Interest 207

13.1 Has the 4.7% Rule Already Failed? 207

13.2 Required Minimum IRA Distributions and SAFEMAX 212

13.3 Should I “Buy-and-Hold”? 215

13.4 Annuities 217

13.5 When the Shiller CAPE Is “Off the Charts” 219

13.6 Is It Science? 220

13.7 Should I Wait for a Higher SAFEMAX to Retire? 224

Chapter 14 Go Forth and Plan! 229

Appendixes

Appendix A Books Worth Reading 233

Appendix B Articles Worth Reading 235

Appendix C Software Worth Using 239

About the Author 241

Index 243

Editorial Reviews

Bengen delivers a well-researched, rigorous, and readable book that clearly presents the methodology and assumptions required to develop a safe withdrawal rate while providing valuable insights into the risks of withdrawal strategies in retirement. Importantly he shows how to manage the strategy throughout retirement.”

Larry Swecroe