Decumulation

[SunnyOne]

Hi all,

Most of my adult financial planning efforts have naturally been focused on the accumulation of wealth..but now I am in my early 50s and it's time to develop a new strategy and set a timeline for retirement.

My retirement income will come from a nest egg, a couple pensions and SS...with a possible benefit of subsidized health care.

Most personal finance books seem to be only focused only on budgeting and investing.
Can anyone recommend a good book for researching decumulation strategies (eg. taking the pensions and SS sooner or later) and related financial issues in retirement.?

I understand the beginning step of calculating what my retirement income will look like based on assets, but the pensions and when to start taking them, versus living first off the nest egg - all of this is a bit new to me.

Thanks, GiGi

 

[steelyman]

A well-organized spreadsheet might be all you need.

 

[Options]

Jim Otar's Unveiling the Retirement Myth was of great help to me. ESPlanner is the best (as in most robust) calculator I've found for decumulation. The more I use and understand it, the more I like it.

 

[Midpack]

There's tons written about when to take Soc Sec, just Google and read. And the pensions I know of are fairly simple financial instruments, most people take them when it maximizes their expected benefit payout unless they need the income sooner.

The accumulation phase has fewer variables and is therefore considerably simpler (though not easy) than "decumulation" so there's much less written. The book below is the most serious resource I've found, but it's not for the faint of heart and it was written before the GFC (2008 global financial collapse). Some reputable "experts" have reconsidered and (in some cases, substantially) changed their recommendations since the GFC.

 

[braumeister]

Another good one:
The Bogleheads' Guide to Retirement Planning

 

[Meadbh]

Here are two Canadian books on decumulation:

http://www.amazon.ca/Your-Retirement-Income-Blueprint-Six-Step/dp/1118087526

Pensionize Your Nest Egg: How to Use Product Allocation to Create a Guaranteed Income for Life: Moshe A. Milevsky, Alexandra C. Macqueen: 9780470680995: Books - Amazon.ca