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Retirement Starts Today

The Retirement Risk Zone

April 27, 2026·21 min
Episode Description from the Publisher

There is roughly a ten-year window centered around your retirement date, five to ten years before, and five to ten years after called "The Retirement Risk Zone". This is when you're most vulnerable to sequence-of-returns impacting the longevity of your withdrawal strategy. We cover this idea brought up by Wade Pfau in an episode of "The Long View", a show hosted by Christine Benz, Amy C. Arnott, and Ben Johnson - specifically: The Retirement Risk Zone  The Rising Equity Glide Path The Social Security Delay Bridge  After that, I answer a listener question: Frank is planning to delay Social Security and wants to know — does it make sense to take bigger withdrawals from the portfolio in your 60s and then scale back in your 70s once Social Security kicks in? Short answer: yes — but how you do it matters a lot. We'll walk through it. Finally, in our "Retire to Something" segment: After 50 years in the workforce, a former Senior of VP in Manufacturing inspires us with ideas he is doing in his retirement. Resources: Episode of The Long View from Morningstar, featuring Wade Pfau: What Is the 'Retirement Risk Zone?' The Retirement Starts Today Blueprint   Connect with Benjamin Brandt: Subscribe to the This Week in Retirement: http://thisweekinretirement.com Get the Retire-Ready Toolkit: http://retirementstartstodayradio.com Work with Benjamin: https://retirementstartstoday.com/start Get the book!Retirement Starts Today: Your Non-financial Guide to an Even Better Retirement Follow Retirement Starts Today in:Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Amazon Music, or iHeart

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