Episode 92, Safe Spending in Retirement: Bill Bengen on the 4.7% Rule of Thumb

About this episode

Bill Bengen discusses the evolution of retirement spending research and the implications of his new 4.7% rule for safe withdrawals.

In this episode of the Bogleheads® on Investing podcast, guest Bill Bengen — creator of the famous 4% Rule — joins us to discuss what's changed in retirement spending research and how his new book, "A Richer Retirement," shows retirees how they can spend even more money. Jon Luskin, CFP®, and Bill cover safe withdrawal rates in today's market, how inflation and the CAPE ratio impact spending, and why adding asset classes like small-cap and micro-cap stocks increased the safe withdrawal rate from 4% to 4.7%. The episode dives into practical strategies, including front-loaded withdrawals, rising equity glide paths, the role of cash buckets, rebalancing, the spending smile, and why a simple all-in-one fund may be the best approach for do-it-yourself investors. Whether you're planning for early retirement, looking to maximize spending from your portfolio, or simply trying to understand how much you can safely withdraw, this podcast provides essential insights from the researcher who started it all. o o o Jon Luskin, CFP®, a long-time Boglehead and financial planner, hosts this episode of the podcast. The Bogleheads® are a group of like-minded individual investors who follow the…

People in this episode

Host: Jon Luskin

Guest: Bill Bengen

Topics covered

• retirement spending
• safe withdrawal rates
• inflation impact
• investment strategies
• financial planning

Keywords

• 4% Rule
• 4.7% Rule
• retirement
• withdrawal rates
• inflation
• investment strategies
• Bogleheads

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Bogleheads, Vanguard Group

Books & works: A Richer Retirement

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