Most people don't realize this, but retiring later in life changes the rules.

You have fewer go-go years, less runway for recovery in RMDs right around the corner.

But you also have more clarity.

So today I'm walking through the key decisions people retiring after the age of 65 need to get right

because these things are different than people who retire early.

So jumping right in, retiring later typically means higher social security benefits.

It typically means fewer years that your portfolio needs to support you. But it also means things

that compress tax planning windows in fewer high energy years that you have left remaining. So this

isn't about playing defense. It's about designing a strategy that aligns with your health, your

energy, your purpose, and does so with a math to support it. So the first thing that changes if you're retiring after the age of 65 is standard withdrawal rate logic. Typically, when you're looking at a portfolio and you want to say how long can this last so you can determine a safe withdrawal rate, you're assuming that portfolio needs to last for 30 to 40 years. Everything from the 4% rule to the guidance guard rules approach, this is assuming

a 30 to 40 year time horizon. That is completely out the window if you are retiring much later in

life. You probably don't have 30 or 40 years in your retirement time horizon. So what changes?

What changes is your withdrawal rate. If you only have, for example, 20 years that you're planning for in your retirement, using a number like 4% to plan for the rest of your life, you're probably leaving a whole lot of money on the table. Depending on the approach you're taking, depending upon the rules that you're following, you may be able to spend closer to 6 or 7% if you only have 20 years that you're planning for. Now, of course, none of this is intended to be

specific advice. Make sure that you're aligning the strategy to your unique situation, understanding

your position, working with your financial advisor. But generally speaking, 6 to 7% might not be too high

withdrawal rate if you're only trying to support 20 years as opposed to the traditional 30 or

even 40 year time horizon. Now, what if you only have 10 years left? What if you've only trying to support 20 years as opposed to the traditional 30 or even 40 year time horizon.

Now, what if you only have 10 years left? What if you've worked until 75 and you think that you might only live until age 85?

Well, if you're only spending 4% of your portfolio, that's less than half of what you probably could be spending.

You might be able to spend 10% or even more from your initial portfolio balance if you only have

10 years of life that you're trying to support with that portfolio. Now compare these numbers,

10% per year versus the traditional 4% per year. How much more could your portfolio do for you?

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