This is your space to ask me questions, which I welcome.
Let’s establish some ground rules:
- I can only answer general questions about my research, my website, my book, and the 4.7% Rule. I can’t answer questions specific to your personal financial situation.
- Keep it clean. Keep it on topic. Keep it respectful.
- I will post my answer to your question on this board for all to see, in the hopes it helps many people. I will hide your identity.
- You may comment on my answer or others' comments. If you do so, please don’t forget rule #2. I will diligently remove comments I deem inappropriate.
- I’ll answer questions as soon as I can. If I get swamped, I apologize in advance for any delay.
Now: Ready, Aim and Fire those questions!
Thanks,
Bill Bengen
Answers From Bill
Companion to Figure 13.5 of my book
Q. Bill, Very informative book! In section 13.7 you discuss whether it makes sense to wait for a higher SAFEMAX to retire. Figure 13.5 illustrates the first 10 years of ...
Read More Should retirees reduce their equity allocation temporarily in the face of very high Shiller CAPE values?
Q. Loved your book. Given current 40 SC ratio and the early retirement years being a critical variable to SAFEMAX number might it be prudent to at retirement reduce stocks ...
Read More Does SAFEMAX include advisor fees?
Hi Bill, So many retirees use the services of a financial advisor these days. Would I be correct in assuming that your 4% rule, now revised to 4.7%, does not ...
Read More Audio book version index
Dear Bill, I have the audiobook. I have listened to it, and now I want to go back and re-listen to various topics. Is there an index that gives the ...
Read More Personal inflation rate vs CPI
Hi Bill! Does one's personal inflation rate matter vs CPI when calculating SAFEMAX? I was curious whether one's personal inflation matters more than CPI for the inflation bucket to lookup ...
Read More Does the withdrawal percentage change during retirement
Dear Bill, Thank you for your invaluable work and accessible writing style! I understand that a Safemax changes over a portfolio life given changing underlying returns. However, what’s unclear to ...
Read More Error on page 142 (hardcover edition)
Love your book! One clarification, on page 142 (hard cover) you state that retires that did not encounter a large bear market early in their retirement improved their safemax by ...
Read More More SAFEMAX Finder Tables?
Hi. I enjoyed reading your book but I remain confused as to how to calculate my individual SAFEMAX. Tables 2.2-2.4 show SAFEMAX rates base on CPI and Shiller Cape for ...
Read More SAFEMAX for high current Shiller CAPES
Do you have tables for the Cape-Schiller past 23.99 or do we just assume anything past that is 4.7%? The current ratio is 38.94, so not really sure what to ...
Read More David Blanchett’s “Spending Smile”
I’m enjoying your book and got to the spending smile part. I would love to see the effect over 30 and 40 year retirement lengths. My basic understanding is that ...
Read More Multi-factor CAPE model?
Just finished your book this morning. I may have a few questions, but one that comes to mind right away is why not consider other CAPEs or more specifically a ...
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