Wade Pfau, Ph.D., CFA, RICP®

Why Does Everyone Experience Such Different Retirement Income Outcomes?

By Wade Pfau, Ph.D., CFA, RICP® / April 10, 2017 / Comments Off on Why Does Everyone Experience Such Different Retirement Income Outcomes?

Individual investors are vulnerable to the sequence of market returns experienced over their investing lifetimes. Individuals who behave in exactly the same way over their careers (saving the same percentage of the same salary for the same number of years) can experience disparate outcomes based solely upon the specific sequence of investment returns that accompanies…

Read More

What Is The ‘Retirement Spending Smile’?

By Wade Pfau, Ph.D., CFA, RICP® / August 11, 2016 / Comments Off on What Is The ‘Retirement Spending Smile’?

Many people approach retirement planning as if they’ll monotonically spend the same amount year after year throughout their retirement. This assumption certainly makes the planning process significantly simpler, but it’s not realistic. Our spending desires (and needs) change over time.Many people want to take advantage of their early retirement while they are still spry and…

Read More

Does Your Retirement Plan Account For Your Own Cognitive Decline?

By Wade Pfau, Ph.D., CFA, RICP® / May 10, 2016 / Comments Off on Does Your Retirement Plan Account For Your Own Cognitive Decline?

When it comes to financial planning, Vanguard’s “Alpha” and Morningstar’s “Gamma” are really just the tip of the iceberg. For instance, neither study considered how to incorporate home equity into a retirement income plan. We could consider the naïve strategy to be the conventional wisdom of considering a reverse mortgage only as a last resort option in retirement. If you read…

Read More

Understanding the Tools in Your Retirement Income Toolbox

By Wade Pfau, Ph.D., CFA, RICP® / April 6, 2016 / Comments Off on Understanding the Tools in Your Retirement Income Toolbox

You should be familiar with all the tools in your retirement income toolbox. Retirement plans can be built to manage varying risks by strategically combining the following retirement income tools in different ways. Total Return Investment Portfolios Making systematic withdrawals from a well-diversified investment portfolio is a common way to obtain retirement income. Systematic withdrawals…

Read More

The Continuum of Long-Term Care

By Wade Pfau, Ph.D., CFA, RICP® / January 8, 2016 / Comments Off on The Continuum of Long-Term Care

As we age, the question of where and how we will receive long-term care becomes increasingly significant. While many envision institutionalized living as the inevitable solution, the landscape of care options has expanded significantly, allowing individuals to receive care in more familiar and comfortable environments. With proper planning, it is often possible to remain at…

Read More

The Importance of Planning for Long-Term Care

By Wade Pfau, Ph.D., CFA, RICP® / December 18, 2015 / Comments Off on The Importance of Planning for Long-Term Care

A well-designed retirement plan must cover predictable spending and include provisions for unexpected contingencies that may arise during a long retirement. One of the most severe and unpredictable expenses retirees may face is long-term care (LTC). This encompasses a broad range of services addressing physical, mental, social, and medical needs that arise from significant physical…

Read More

Retirement Income Strategies with Annuities

By Wade Pfau, Ph.D., CFA, RICP® / August 12, 2015 / Comments Off on Retirement Income Strategies with Annuities

  Originally published in Forbes. Income annuities come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Knowing which makes the most sense for your situation can be overwhelming. In this article, I will explore how income annuities work and what options are available. When do income payments start? Annuities can be either immediate or deferred. An…

Read More

Which Is Better for Retirement Income: Insurance or Investments?

By Wade Pfau, Ph.D., CFA, RICP® / April 12, 2015 / Comments Off on Which Is Better for Retirement Income: Insurance or Investments?

Retirement income planning has emerged as a distinct field in the financial services profession. But because it is still relatively new, the best approach for building a retirement income plan remains elusive. There are two fundamentally different philosophies for retirement income planning, which I call probability-based and safety-first. Those philosophies diverge on the critical issue…

Read More