
Permission To Live It Up In Retirement With Bill Bengen, Father Of The 4% Rule Going To 5%
From The Financial Samurai Podcast by Sam Dogen: Financial Samurai founder, personal finance blogger
October 22, 2025 · 24 min
About this episode
Bill Bengen discusses his new book and the implications of raising the safe withdrawal rate from 4% to 5% for retirees.
Bill Bengen, the father of the 4% Rule, is back with a new book titled A Richer Retirement . In it, he raises his SAFEMAX—or safe withdrawal rate—from 4% to 5%. This change has major implications: retirees can confidently spend more and enjoy life to the fullest, while those pursuing FIRE or traditional retirement may not need to save as aggressively or work as long to achieve financial freedom. See related Financial Samurai post: Persmission To Live It Up In Retirement Free Financial Analysis Offer From Empower If you have over $100,000 in investable assets—whether in savings, taxable accounts, 401(k)s, or IRAs—you can get a free financial check-up from an Empower financial professional by signing up here . It's a no-obligation way to have a seasoned expert, who builds and analyzes portfolios for a living, review your finances. A fresh set of eyes could uncover hidden fees, inefficient allocations, or opportunities to optimize—giving you greater clarity and confidence in your retirement financial plan. The statement is provided to you by Financial Samurai ("Promoter") who has entered into a written referral agreement with Empower Advisory Group, LLC ("EAG"). Click here to learn…
People in this episode
Host: Sam Dogen
Guest: Bill Bengen
Topics covered
- retirement planning
- financial independence
- 4% rule
- safe withdrawal rate
- FIRE
- personal finance
Keywords
- retirement
- 4% rule
- 5% withdrawal rate
- financial freedom
- FIRE
- personal finance
- Bill Bengen
Sponsors
Empower
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Financial Samurai
Books & works: A Richer Retirement
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