Rule of thumb · FinanceNº 39 / 96

The 4% rule

A retirement pot can sustain withdrawals of about 4% a year — so you need roughly 25× your annual spending.

Why it works

From the Trinity study of historical US portfolios. A guideline, not a guarantee: sequence-of-returns risk and long retirements argue for flexibility.

Do it exactly

Estimate with the rule, then check it against the calculator that models it properly.

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