Author Topic: Not a Typical Antimustachian Wall of Shame and Comedy Topic, but Check Out This  (Read 6268 times)

BPA

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headline:  How to Outlive Your Retirement Fund

So inspirational.  I wonder if it was a Freudian slip or a passive aggressive commentary on the 4% rule?  ;)

http://www.thestar.com/business/personal_finance/2013/07/21/how_to_outlive_your_retirement_funds_the_4_per_cent_rule.html


footenote

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I'm betting it was a headline-writer-in-a-hurry. The error isn't in the article itself, just the headline and caption.

Having said that, quite amusing! I pictured the couple in the photo saying to one another "Look, hon - Using this SWR we outlive the stache!"

Reepekg

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I was almost with them until they brought up cobra farming. Wait, what?

Redbeard

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I was almost with them until they brought up cobra farming. Wait, what?

I think the idea here is that if you take up cobra farming you are unlikely to live very long. You wouldn't outlive your 'stache even with a high withdrawal rate.

dragoncar

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What's the problem?  Did they fix the error?

Redbeard

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The headline implies that you will outlive a 4% SWR, but the article states that 4% is pretty conservative.

dragoncar

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The headline implies that you will outlive a 4% SWR, but the article states that 4% is pretty conservative.

Ok looks like they changed it to say how not to outlive...

footenote

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The headline implies that you will outlive a 4% SWR, but the article states that 4% is pretty conservative.

Ok looks like they changed it to say how not to outlive...
They changed the headline, but not the sub-header:

How much cash can retirees withdraw from investments each year and outlive their income? One rule of thumb is 4 per cent.

dragoncar

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The headline implies that you will outlive a 4% SWR, but the article states that 4% is pretty conservative.

Ok looks like they changed it to say how not to outlive...
They changed the headline, but not the sub-header:

How much cash can retirees withdraw from investments each year and outlive their income? One rule of thumb is 4 per cent.

Well the rule goes both ways.  Over 4%, your chance to outlive is unacceptably high.  Under 4%, chance to outlive is acceptably low.  So I guess 4% could be a rule of thumb for outliving your retirement :-)

Jamesqf

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Seems to me they still aren't quite getting it, as for instance this:
Quote
And, says Michael Finke, professor of retirement planning and living at Texas Tech, you could be living a lean retirement for no reason, even if you stick with an initial 4 per cent withdrawal rate. “The 4 per cent rule assumes you’re going to live to age 95, and most of us are going to be dead by then,” he says. “If you’re really conservative, you didn’t run out of money, but you left a lot of retirement joy in the bank.”

Still on that money buys happiness trip :-(

renbutler

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Ok looks like they changed it to say how not to outlive...

Yeah, that's what they meant all along, but I glossed right over the error initially without even noticing.

In my mind, I read what they actually meant, which fits in the context better.

Hamster

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A 100% withdrawal rate is just fine if you can just figure out how to reliably die within your first 365 days of retirement.