Ted Jones intended to retire two years ago. But after the markets tanked, he decided to keep working to defer tapping his investments. Jones, 63, a former Army major who lives in Lorton, Va., retired from military life in 1992 but has stayed on with the Army as a civilian.
Now Jones is getting ready to retire again. To maintain the lifestyle that he and his wife, Chong, 64, are used to, he figures they need to draw 4% of their investments annually. He also hopes to be able to leave something to the couple’s two sons and four grandchildren.
The Joneses should take a “bucket” approach to assembling an investing plan. This portfolio stashes two years of expenses in a cash bucket, invests the next eight years’ worth of expenses in bonds, and puts the rest in stocks. Retirees need stocks to keep up with inflation. But if they run into another bear market, the Joneses know that they won’t be tapping their stock bucket for another decade. This portfolio would have lost 32% over the bear market but gained 65% from the bottom.
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
See the portfolio that seeks to tamp down risk.
See all 22 of our recommended portfolios.
-
What Is a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD)?Tax Breaks A QCD can lower your tax bill while meeting your charitable giving goals in retirement. Here’s how.
-
Embracing Generative AI for Financial SuccessGenerative AI has the potential to reshape how we approach learning about and managing our personal finances.
-
Best Banks for High-Net-Worth Clients 2024wealth management These banks welcome customers who keep high balances in deposit and investment accounts, showering them with fee breaks and access to financial-planning services.
-
Stock Market Holidays in 2024 and 2025: NYSE, NASDAQ and Wall Street HolidaysMarkets When are the stock market holidays? Here, we look at which days the NYSE, Nasdaq and bond markets are off in 2024 and 2025.
-
Stock Market Trading Hours: What Time Is the Stock Market Open Today?Markets When does the market open? While the stock market does have regular hours, trading doesn't necessarily stop when the major exchanges close.
-
Bogleheads Stay the CourseBears and market volatility don’t scare these die-hard Vanguard investors.
-
The Current I-Bond Rate Until May Is Mildly Attractive. Here's Why.Investing for Income The current I-bond rate is active until November 2024 and presents an attractive value, if not as attractive as in the recent past.
-
What Are I-Bonds? Inflation Made Them Popular. What Now?savings bonds Inflation has made Series I savings bonds, known as I-bonds, enormously popular with risk-averse investors. So how do they work?
-
This New Sustainable ETF’s Pitch? Give Back Profits.investing Newday’s ETF partners with UNICEF and other groups.
-
As the Market Falls, New Retirees Need a Planretirement If you’re in the early stages of your retirement, you’re likely in a rough spot watching your portfolio shrink. We have some strategies to make the best of things.
