Asset Allocation in Retirement - SmartAsset (2024)

Asset Allocation in Retirement - SmartAsset (1)

The general rule for asset allocation in retirement is this: You should shift toward more conservative investments once you retire, since you no longer have an active income with which to replace losses. However, you will need this money for decades to come, so you shouldn’t completely abandon your growth-oriented positions. And therefore strike the exact balance based on your personal spending needs. Here are three steps to set up your asset allocation for retirement.

Afinancial advisor could help you create a financial plan for your retirement needs and goals.

1. Set Your Goals, Then Adjust Over Time

When planning for retirement, it’s important to plan for two issues:

Life expectancy. According to OECD data, the average 65 year old American can expect to live another 18 – 20 years. However, retirees should not plan for that number. An American in good health can often expect to live well into their 80s and 90s, and for people currently making their retirement plans there’s good reason to think that will continue to extend.

If you retire at 65, it’s wise to plan for at least 30 years’ worth of money. More, if possible. This means that you’ll need a large enough nest egg to last you for years to come. It also means that inflation should be a real part of your planning. Even 2% (the Federal Reserve’s target rate of inflation) can take a real bite out of your savings when compounded over decades.

Lifestyle.Retirees who want to travel and have adventures will need more cash on hand than those who want to fish and catch up on their favorite movies. If you have significant health care needs by age 65, you will want to plan for more medical expenses than someone who enters retirement healthy. Your needs and preferences in retirement will determine your spending, which in turn will determine how you need to plan your finances.

Together, your life expectancy and life style will help you understand how you need to structure your finances as your retirement goes forward. The earlier you retire, the more you need to conserve your money for the future. Meanwhile, the more you plan on spending, the more money your account will need to generate.

This means that your needs will generally change as your retirement goes on, so your asset allocation should too. Your financial plan at 65, when you may have many more years to come and the relative youth and health to spend more freely, will likely look very different from your asset allocation at 85.

2. Allocate Assets to Manage Your Risk

Asset Allocation in Retirement - SmartAsset (2)

The rule of thumb when it comes to managing your retirement portfolio is that you should be more aggressive earlier. The younger you are, the more time you have to replace any losses that you take from higher-risk assets. Then, as you age, you should shift money into more conservative assets. This will help protect you against risk when you have less time to earn back your money.

By the time you enter retirement itself, you should shift your assets in a generally conservative direction overall. This reflects the fact that you don’t intend to work again, so you’ll have to make up any portfolio losses with future gains andSocial Security.

This is generally a wise strategy. The two most common lower-risk assets for a retirement account are:

  • Bonds
  • Certificates of Deposit

Bonds are corporate, or sometimes municipal government, debt notes. They generate a return based on the interest payments made by the borrowing entity. Most bonds tend to be relatively secure investment products, since large institutions generally pay their debts (and have assets to collect on if they don’t).

Certificates of deposit are low-risk, low-return products offered by banks. You make a deposit with the bank and agree not to withdraw it for a minimum period of time. In return they pay you a higher interest rate than normal.

Both bonds and CDs are considered low-risk assets. Bonds give you a better return, but retain some element of risk, while CDs give you a fairly low return but with about as little risk as you can get.

In fact, CDs are even lower risk than simply holding your money in cash, since ordinarily they pay interest rates that keep your money somewhat consistent with inflation. (Although at time of writing this is not the case due to high rates of inflation.)

For most retirees, investment advisors recommend low-risk asset allocations around the following proportions:

  • Age 65 – 70: 40% – 50% of your portfolio
  • Age 70 – 75: 50% – 60% of your portfolio
  • Age 75+: 60% – 70% of your portfolio, with an emphasis on cash-like products like certificates of deposit

3. Plan for Growth Based on Your Spending Needs

Asset Allocation in Retirement - SmartAsset (3)

The most important test when it comes to deciding your retirement portfolio asset allocation is how it will generate money relative to how you plan on spending money.

Many retirement advisors recommend that you should plan on replacing about 75% of your income in retirement. That is, if you currently earn and live on $100,000 per year, you should anticipate needing $75,000 per year in retirement. This gives you a number to test your retirement account against.

As you plan for your portfolio’s asset allocation, how close are you to that number? (Although don’t forget that your retirement account doesn’t need to necessarily replace all of your income. Social Security will most likely contribute at least something to your retirement income.)

In an ideal scenario, your portfolio can hit “replacement rate.” That means that your portfolio grows as quickly as you withdraw money from it. In theory, if you can hit replacement rate with your money, you can live off of your retirement savings indefinitely without ever drawing down on your principal. However that requires a pretty generous nest egg, and for most retirees is probably out of reach.

Either way, your portfolio will need an element of growth. If you have just entered retirement, you will hopefully have many long, healthy years to look forward to. Twenty or thirty years is simply too long for your entire portfolio to languish with low-growth certificates of deposit, especially considering that many retirees will need to live off this account for almost as long as they spent building it.

Generally speaking, the two most recommend asset classes for growth-oriented portfolios are:

  • Stocks
  • Funds

By stocks, we mean shares of individual businesses that you own. These can be some of the most volatile assets on the market, which is both a good and a bad thing when it comes to returns.

Funds can include a wide spectrum of options. Generally speaking you will be investing in mutual funds or ETFs. Some investors can pursue aggressive, high-growth funds that seek to outperform the market at large. However most investors will put their money in a standard index fund, typically one pegged to the S&P 500.

The more money you keep in stocks, index funds and growth-oriented funds, the more your portfolio can grow during your retirement.

While, again, this depends entirely on your individual needs, many retirement advisors recommend higher-growth assets around the following proportions:

  • Age 65 – 70: 50% to 60% of your portfolio
  • Age 70 – 75: 40% to 50% of your portfolio, with fewer individual stocks and more funds to mitigate some risk
  • Age 75+: 30% to 40% of your portfolio, with as few individual stocks as possible and generally closer to 30% for most investors

While this is often a successful asset allocation, once again build it around your personal needs. Specifically, if you find that you can generate returns at or near your personal replacement rate with a more conservative portfolio, that’s generally wise. Your goal is to meet your financial needs with the least risk possible.

Bottom Line

Asset allocation in your portfolio does not stop once you enter retirement. You want a conservative portfolio overall once you retire, but with more growth-oriented assets when you’re in your 60s and early 70s.

Investing Tips for Retirement

  • Afinancial advisorcan help you put a financial plan for your retirement into action. Finding afinancialadvisordoesn’thaveto behard. SmartAsset’s free toolmatches you with up to three vettedfinancialadvisorswho serve your area, and you can interview youradvisormatches at no cost to decide which one is right for you. If you’re ready to find anadvisorwho can help you achieve yourfinancialgoals,get started now.
  • In addition to your pension or retirement plan, here are five additional ways to get guaranteed retirement income.

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Eric Reed Eric Reed is a freelance journalist who specializes in economics, policy and global issues, with substantial coverage of finance and personal finance. He has contributed to outlets including The Street, CNBC, Glassdoor and Consumer Reports. Eric’s work focuses on the human impact of abstract issues, emphasizing analytical journalism that helps readers more fully understand their world and their money. He has reported from more than a dozen countries, with datelines that include Sao Paolo, Brazil; Phnom Penh, Cambodia; and Athens, Greece. A former attorney, before becoming a journalist Eric worked in securities litigation and white collar criminal defense with a pro bono specialty in human trafficking issues. He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School and can be found any given Saturday in the fall cheering on his Wolverines.

Asset Allocation in Retirement - SmartAsset (2024)

FAQs

What is the optimal asset allocation in retirement? ›

Once you're retired, you may prefer a more conservative allocation of 50% in stocks and 50% in bonds. Again, adjust this ratio based on your risk tolerance. Hold any money you'll need within the next five years in cash or investment-grade bonds with varying maturity dates. Keep your emergency fund entirely in cash.

What is the 110 rule for asset allocation? ›

Figure out your personal tolerance for risk. There are different rules of thumb you can follow when deciding how to divvy up your assets, and a popular one is the rule of 110. It states that to figure out how much of your portfolio should be in stocks, subtract your age from 110.

Is $3 million enough to retire? ›

The good news: As long as you plan carefully, $3 million should be a comfortable amount to retire on at 55. If you're ready to be matched with local advisors that can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now. To plan your retirement on $3 million, you'll need to face your mortality.

Is $1.5 million enough to retire at 62? ›

Is $1.5 million enough to retire at 62? Yes, you can retire at 62 with one million five hundred thousand dollars. At age 62, an annuity will provide a guaranteed income of $95,250 annually, starting immediately for the rest of the insured's lifetime. The income will stay the same and never decrease.

What is the retirement 95% rule? ›

The Rule of 95 is an alternative full benefit retirement eligibility date to allow members to retire earlier than their schedule-based eligibility date. Under the Rule of 95, members can retire when their age plus their years of service equal 95 provided that they are at least 62 years old.

What should a 60 year old retiree asset allocation be? ›

At age 60–69, consider a moderate portfolio (60% stock, 35% bonds, 5% cash/cash investments); 70–79, moderately conservative (40% stock, 50% bonds, 10% cash/cash investments); 80 and above, conservative (20% stock, 50% bonds, 30% cash/cash investments).

What is the 5% asset rule? ›

Under the in-house asset rules, an SMSF is prohibited from holding more than 5% of its total assets in an in-house asset. Under the rules, an SMSF trustee must not: Use the SMSF's assets to provide financial assistance to a member or their relatives. Borrow money from the SMSF or use the SMSF as security for a loan.

What is the 80% investment rule? ›

Pareto's principle, better known as the 80/20 rule, asserts that 80% of the results can be achieved with 20% of the effort. When applied to investing, many folks may come to the same conclusion that 80% of their returns are generated from only 20% of their asset allocations.

What is the 4 percent rule for asset allocation? ›

How the 4% Rule Works. The 4% rule is easy to follow. In the first year of retirement, you can withdraw up to 4% of your portfolio's value. If you have $1 million saved for retirement, for example, you could spend $40,000 in the first year of retirement following the 4% rule.

How many Americans have $1000000 in retirement savings? ›

The number of 401(k) accounts with at least $1 million in retirement savings fell 32% last year, to 299,000, from 442,000 in 2021, according to new data from Fidelity Investments.

Is $5 million net worth enough to retire? ›

Based on the median costs of living in most parts of America, $5 million is more than enough for a very comfortable retirement. Based on average market returns, $5 million can support many households indefinitely.

Is $5 million enough to retire at 65? ›

While there are a few questions you'll need to answer before you can know definitively, the quick answer is that you can certainly retire on $5 million at age 65. Though you may have to make some adjustments, depending on your lifestyle.

Can a couple retire at 65 with $1 million dollars? ›

A recent analysis determined that a $1 million retirement nest egg may only last about 20 years depending on what state you live in. Based on this, if you retire at age 65 and live until you turn 84, $1 million will probably be enough retirement savings for you.

How much money do you need to retire with $100000 a year income? ›

This means that if you make $100,000 shortly before retirement, you can start to plan using the ballpark expectation that you'll need about $75,000 a year to live on in retirement. You'll likely need less income in retirement than during your working years because: Most people spend less in retirement.

Can a 60 year old couple retire on $2 million dollars? ›

Yes, for some people, $2 million should be more than enough to retire. For others, $2 million may not even scratch the surface. The answer depends on your personal situation and there are lot of challenges you'll face. As of 2023, it seems the number of obstacles to a successful retirement continues to grow.

What is the 80 20 retirement rule? ›

If you save 20% of your income, you will likely have a much higher savings rate than if you only save 10 or 5 percent. Reducing expenses: The 80/20 rule for investing can also help you identify the 20% of expenses that are responsible for 80% of your income – money that can be channeled into your retirement savings.

Can I retire at 55 with $2 million? ›

Yes, you can retire at 55 with 2 million dollars. At age 55, an annuity will provide a guaranteed income of $130,000 annually, starting immediately for the rest of the insured's lifetime. The income will stay the same and never decrease.

How much should I have in my 401k at 55? ›

Experts say to have at least seven times your salary saved at age 55. That means if you make $55,000 a year, you should have at least $385,000 saved for retirement.

Is $600,000 enough to retire at 60? ›

It's possible to retire with $600,000 in savings with careful planning, but it's important to consider how long your money will last. Whether you can successfully retire with $600,000 can depend on a number of factors, including: Your desired retirement age. Estimated retirement budget.

Why a 60 40 asset allocation is no longer reasonable for investors? ›

“You cannot invest in one future anymore; you have to invest in multiple futures,” Rice said. “The things that drove 60/40 portfolios to work are broken. The old 60/40 portfolio did the things that clients wanted, but those two asset classes alone cannot provide that anymore.

How much does the average 70 year old have in retirement funds? ›

Federal Reserve SCF Data
Age rangeMedian Retirement Savings
Americans aged 45-54$100,000
Americans aged 55-64$134,000
Americans aged 65-74$164,000
Americans aged 75+$83,000
2 more rows

What is the 120 age rule? ›

The 120-age investment rule states that a healthy investing approach means subtracting your age from 120 and using the result as the percentage of your investment dollars in stocks and other equity investments.

What are the thumb rules for asset allocation? ›

The 100 minus age rule is a great way to determine one's asset allocation. That is, how much you should allocate in equities and how much in debt. For this, subtract your age from 100, and the number that you arrive at is the percentage at which you should invest in equities. The rest should be invested in debt.

What is the asset allocation 120 rule? ›

The Rule of 120 (previously known as the Rule of 100) says that subtracting your age from 120 will give you an idea of the weight percentage for equities in your portfolio. The remaining percentage should be in more conservative, fixed-income products like bonds.

What are the four golden rule in investing? ›

They are: (1) Use specialist products; (2) Diversify manager research risk; (3) Diversify investment styles; and, (4) Rebalance to asset mix policy.

What is rule 69 in investment? ›

The Rule of 69 is used to estimate the amount of time it will take for an investment to double, assuming continuously compounded interest. The calculation is to divide 69 by the rate of return for an investment and then add 0.35 to the result.

What is the 100 age rule investing? ›

The 100-age rule of asset allocation is a guideline that investors use to determine how much of their investment should be allocated to each asset class based on their age. The rule states that an investor's portfolio should contain 100 minus their age in stocks and the remaining amount in bonds.

What are the asset allocations of Warren Buffett? ›

What Is the 90/10 Rule in Investing? The 90/10 rule in investing is a comment made by Warren Buffett regarding asset allocation. The rule stipulates investing 90% of one's investment capital towards low-cost stock-based index funds and the remainder 10% to short-term government bonds.

What is the best asset allocation mix? ›

Finding the right mix for your portfolio. One of the first things you learn as a new investor is to seek the best portfolio mix. Many financial advisors recommend a 60/40 asset allocation between stocks and fixed income to take advantage of growth while keeping up your defenses.

What is the 25% plan asset rule? ›

Under the Plan Assets Rules, if an IRA/401(k) Plan owns greater than 25% of an investment entity that is neither a “publicly-offered security” nor a mutual fund, the equity interests and assets of the “investment company” will be deemed assets of the IRA/401(k).

What percentage of US population has $2 million dollars in savings? ›

We estimate there are 8,046,080 US households with $2 million or more in net worth. That is roughly 6.25% of all US Households.

Can I retire at 50 with $3 million dollars? ›

Yes, you can retire at 50 with three million dollars. At age 50, an annuity will provide a guaranteed income of $161,250 annually, starting immediately for the rest of the insured's lifetime.

How much do most Americans retire with? ›

The Federal Reserve's most recent data reveals that the average American has $65,000 in retirement savings. By their retirement age, the average is estimated to be $255,200.

What does Suze Orman say about retirement? ›

Orman says 10% of your salary is the minimum amount you should put in your 401(k), and she says 15% is a smarter target. If you're not putting in 15% yet, raise your contribution by 1% per year until you get there. Vow to use half of a raise for retirement.

How many people have $3,000,000 in savings? ›

1,821,745 Households in the United States Have Investment Portfolios Worth $3,000,000 or More.

Can my wife and I retire on $5 million dollars? ›

The answer to this question is a resounding yes! You can retire on five million dollars. You could retire quite comfortably on that amount of money. The key is ensuring that your money lasts as long as you do in retirement.

How much money is enough to never work again? ›

Using the 4% rule to estimate how much money you need to never work again involves knowing how much you plan on spending that first year or retirement. For example, if you want to spend $200,000, the math is $200,000/. 04 = $5,000,000. Another way to calculate this is that you would need 25x your annual spending rate.

Can a couple retire at 55 with $5 million dollars? ›

The Bottom Line

With $5 million you can plan on retiring early almost anywhere. While you should be more careful with your money in extremely high-cost areas, this size nest egg can generate more than $100,000 per year of income. That should be more than enough to live comfortably on starting at age 55.

How much money do you need to retire with $150000 a year income? ›

“For example, if you make $150,000 per year, you should aim to have at least $120,000 per year in retirement to live comfortably in your golden years,” says Sexton.

What is the average 401k balance for a 65 year old? ›

To help you maximize your retirement dollars, the 401(k) is an employer-sponsored plan that allows you to save for retirement in a tax-sheltered way. You can contribute up to $22,500 in 2023.
...
The average 401(k) balance by age.
AgeAverage 401(k) balanceMedian 401(k) balance
55-60$199,743$55,464
60-65$198,194$53,300
65-70$185,858$43,152
6 more rows

Can I live off interest on a million dollars? ›

Once you have $1 million in assets, you can look seriously at living entirely off the returns of a portfolio. After all, the S&P 500 alone averages 10% returns per year. Setting aside taxes and down-year investment portfolio management, a $1 million index fund could provide $100,000 annually.

What is the average Social Security check? ›

Average Social Security retirement benefits in 2023

Average payments for all retirees enrolled in the Social Security program increased to approximately $1,827, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA).

What percentage of Americans have $100000 for retirement? ›

In 2019, about 50% of households reported any savings in retirement accounts. Twenty-one percent had saved more than $100,000, and 7% had more than $500,000. These percentages were only somewhat higher for older people. Those ages 51 to 55 were the most likely to have a retirement account.

How much Social Security will I get if I make $100000 a year? ›

If your highest 35 years of indexed earnings averaged out to $100,000, your AIME would be roughly $8,333. If you add all three of these numbers together, you would arrive at a PIA of $2,893.11, which equates to about $34,717.32 of Social Security benefits per year at full retirement age.

How much Social Security will I get if I make $120000 a year? ›

The point is that if you earned $120,000 per year for the past 35 years, thanks to the annual maximum taxable wage limits, the maximum Social Security benefit you could get at full retirement age is $2,687.

Do most retirees have a million dollars? ›

Putting that much aside could make it easier to live your preferred lifestyle when you retire, without having to worry about running short of money. However, not a huge percentage of retirees end up having that much money. In fact, statistically, around 10% of retirees have $1 million or more in savings.

Can I live off the interest of 2 million dollars? ›

Can you live off of $2 million in assets? The answer is yes, if you manage your investment portfolio smartly. One common option is to invest $2 million in an index fund. But you will still need to make absolutely sure that you have a rainy day fund since the market can be reliable over decades but fickle over years.

How much income will 2 million generate in retirement? ›

A $2 million retirement account invested entirely in an S&P 500 index fund would return an average of $200,000 per year. That's enough for most households to live on without even dipping into the principal, but in some years that account would take significant losses.

What is the ideal retirement allocation by age? ›

The common rule of asset allocation by age is that you should hold a percentage of stocks that is equal to 100 minus your age. So if you're 40, you should hold 60% of your portfolio in stocks. Since life expectancy is growing, changing that rule to 110 minus your age or 120 minus your age may be more appropriate.

What is the 5% allocation rule? ›

In investment, the five percent rule is a philosophy that says an investor should not allocate more than five percent of their portfolio funds into one security or investment. The rule also referred to as FINRA 5% policy, applies to transactions like riskless transactions and proceed sales.

What is the 4 rule for asset allocation? ›

One frequently used rule of thumb for retirement spending is known as the 4% rule. It's relatively simple: You add up all of your investments, and withdraw 4% of that total during your first year of retirement. In subsequent years, you adjust the dollar amount you withdraw to account for inflation.

What is the 7 percent rule for retirement? ›

What is the 7 percent rule? The 7 percent rule is a retirement planning guideline that suggests you can comfortably withdraw 7 percent of your retirement savings annually without running out of money.

How many people have $1000000 in retirement savings? ›

America's ranks of so-called 401(k) millionaires are diminishing following last year's stock market rout. The number of 401(k) accounts with at least $1 million in retirement savings fell 32% last year, to 299,000, from 442,000 in 2021, according to new data from Fidelity Investments.

What is the 70% rule of thumb for retirement? ›

The Rule of 70 is a calculation that determines how many years it takes for an investment to double in value based on a constant rate of return. Investors use this metric to evaluate various investments, including mutual fund returns and the growth rate for a retirement portfolio.

Is $500000 enough to retire on at 70? ›

The bottom line is that you can retire at 70 with $500k if you are comfortable with the resulting lifestyle. Your savings will provide you with approximately $20k per year, and the average Social Security benefit will add another $18k or so.

What is a typical asset allocation strategy? ›

The most common dynamic asset allocation strategy used by mutual funds is counter-cyclical strategy. These funds increase their equity allocation (reduce debt allocation) when equity valuations decline (become cheaper) and reduce debt allocations.

What is 12 20 80 asset allocation rule? ›

With this strategy investors need to allocate at least 12 months worth of their monthly expenses in a liquid fund which can thus be easily liquidated in times of emergencies, allocate 20% of the overall portfolio to Gold to provide downside protection during uncertain times, and dedicate 80% of the total investable ...

What is the 90 10 rule of retirement? ›

The 90/10 investing strategy for retirement savings involves allocating 90% of one's investment capital in low-cost S&P 500 index funds and the remaining 10% in short-term government bonds. The 90/10 investing rule is a suggested benchmark that investors can easily modify to reflect their tolerance to investment risk.

What is the 80% retirement income rule? ›

The 80 percent rule of thumb suggests that retirees strive to replace 80 percent of their pre-retirement income to maintain their standard of living in retirement. However, several current circ*mstances may mean this rule needs to be revised.

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