2 Retirees - 1 Stays Retired

500K Retirement One Lost, One Won -

Luck of the Draw

2 Retirees - 1 keeps their money, 1 runs out of money :

By retirement at age 65, both the Hatfields and McCoys have worked hard enough to put away $500,000 for their future. As they settle into their new life after work, they leave their retirement funds in the stock market. Both couples are prudent. Factoring for inflation using a 3% rise in their annual income to accommodate it, they take only 4% of their stock market portfolio out every year.

The chart below represents hypothetical market returns over a period of 30 years. For this example the McCoys experience S&P 500® returns from 1979 to 2009, while the Hatfields experience these same returns – in the opposite chronological order. Both families experience a 9% average annual return over these 30 year periods, but the Hatfields’ early ..READ MORE