1 in 3 retirees hit their 80s without touching their savings, and the 4% rule is partly to blame

Article excerpt

One-third of retirees reach their 80s while leaving their retirement savings largely untouched, a pattern that challenges conventional retirement wisdom. Financial advisors widely recommend the "4% rule", withdrawing 4% of retirement assets annually, as a safe spending target. But this guidance may be too conservative, leading retirees to underspend and miss experiences while their money sits idle. The disconnect raises questions about whether decades of retirement-planning orthodoxy is actually serving retirees well, or leaving them overly cautious with capital meant to fund their final decades.