Probability and the 4% rule: How to ensure your clients retire 'safely'

Probability and the 4% rule: How to ensure your clients retire 'safely'

clock

All debate about the value financial planners add for clients should have ended the moment the first helped ensure a retiree client wouldn't run out of money before they ran out of time. But doing so isn't a straightforward task, as Abraham Okusanya explains...

For clients in retirement, developing a sensible and sustainable withdrawal strategy is at least as important as developing a sensible investment strategy. Unless a client annuitises all or most of their retirement pot, they need to have a robust framework in place to guide their withdrawal decisions or risk running out of money.   The 4% rule Across the Atlantic, where retirees have had virtually unrestricted access to their retirement fund for several years, there is an extensive body of research aimed at helping financial planners and clients implement a sustainable withdrawal...

To continue reading this article...

Join Professional Adviser for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, industry insights and market intelligence
  • Stay ahead of the curve with spotlights on emerging trends and technologies
  • Receive breaking news stories straight to your inbox in the daily newsletters
  • Make smart business decisions with the latest developments in regulation, investing retirement and protection
  • Members-only access to the editor’s weekly Friday commentary
  • Be the first to hear about our events and awards programmes

Join

 

Already a Professional Adviser member?

Login

More on Income

Smoothing the dash to drawdown: Defending against sequencing risk and volatility drag

Smoothing the dash to drawdown: Defending against sequencing risk and volatility drag

'A new class of on-platform smoothed funds could be particularly useful'

James Tothill
clock 25 November 2025 • 4 min read
Doug Brodie: Using investment trusts to solve the drawdown problem

Doug Brodie: Using investment trusts to solve the drawdown problem

Part one in a series...

Doug Brodie
clock 14 November 2025 • 4 min read
'A hard act to beat': Annuity pricing and value for money

'A hard act to beat': Annuity pricing and value for money

‘People cannot have their cake and eat it (although they try)’

William Burrows
clock 04 November 2025 • 5 min read