Volume 13, Issue 2
51
A Better Systematic Withdrawal Strategy— The Actuarial Approach Ken Steiner, Fellow, Society of Actuaries, Retired
Retirees generally have at least two potentially conflicting financial goals: (i) spend enough each year to maintain a certain standard of living throughout retirement and (ii) not spend so much that accumulated savings run out prior to death. Corollaries to these two primary goals include: (i) having relatively predictable and stable inflation-adjusted spendable income from year to year (ii) having spending flexibility to meet unforeseen expenses, (iii) maximizing the general level of spendable income and (iv) not leaving too much unspent at death. An optimal retirement spending strategy should address each of these goals to some degree, depending on the preferences of the individual retiree.