When people talk about being able to "safely" withdraw 4% of their invested assets each year (putting aside the many issues with this "rule" and the benefits of flexibility in post-retirement spending), they're talking about the 4% covering taxes as well as living expenses, right? And this includes capital gains taxes, correct? If so, isn't this "rule" somewhat useless because each person's tax basis in their investment assets will differ -- dramatically -- and so will the capital gains tax they need to pay when they're liquidating assets in retirement? How does capital gains tax play into the four percent rule?
Is the answer simply that, as a rough general guideline, based on historical results, a retiree can safely withdraw 4% of her investment portfolio each year, and if she has substantial capital gains then she will just have to pay a bigger chunk of that 4% withdrawal to the government that someone who does not have capital gain? So each of these people - the one with big capital gains in the one with no capital gains - can still withdraw 4%, but one of these people will have a lot less than 4% to live on, while the other will have most or all of her 4% to live on?
Is the answer simply that, as a rough general guideline, based on historical results, a retiree can safely withdraw 4% of her investment portfolio each year, and if she has substantial capital gains then she will just have to pay a bigger chunk of that 4% withdrawal to the government that someone who does not have capital gain? So each of these people - the one with big capital gains in the one with no capital gains - can still withdraw 4%, but one of these people will have a lot less than 4% to live on, while the other will have most or all of her 4% to live on?
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