Preparing for the journey

After years of slaving, nose-to-the-grindstone sweat and toil, retirees should look forward to a stress-free retirement. They may also expect that the work on their pension will have ceased. All the ups and downs of the accumulation phase are over, so now there’s just 20 to 30 years of worry-free withdrawals. However, retirement could be described as a journey, not a destination. During the drawdown phase of retirement the dynamics don’t change. Asset allocation of investment funds in retirement is even more important. There are two variables that affect the ‘decumulation’ phase – lifest...