Journey/Pre-Retirement/Designing Your Retirement Income
Pre-Retirement · Ages 50–64 · 9 min

Designing Your Retirement Income

Retirement is not a number — it's an income problem. How you draw down assets, when you take Social Security, and how you manage taxes in retirement determines whether your money lasts.

Key Decisions at This Stage
Choose a Social Security strategy: take at 62, 67, or 70.
Determine your "retirement income floor" — guaranteed income to cover basics.
Decide your withdrawal sequence: which accounts to tap first.
Sequence of returns risk
Retiring into a market downturn while withdrawing can permanently damage your portfolio. Two people with identical 30-year returns but different sequences can have dramatically different outcomes.
Social Security optimization
Delaying Social Security from 62 to 70 increases your benefit by ~77%. For married couples, coordinating strategies can maximize lifetime income by $100k+ vs claiming early.
4% rule
A guideline suggesting withdrawing 4% of your portfolio in year one, adjusted for inflation annually, has historically lasted 30 years. Not a guarantee, but a useful baseline.
1
Create a Social Security projection at ssa.gov to see your options.
2
Calculate your retirement income floor: Social Security + any pension + annuities.
3
Model two scenarios with your advisor: retire at 62 vs 65 vs 67.

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