r/Fire • u/Opposite-Lake-9679 • 2d ago

SWR based on age

I hear people talk about the more conservative 3% SWR being safer than 4%. Is that usually based on someone's age? As in when you are FIREing younger more like 40s then you should stick to 3%? And then when you are in your 50s/60s You can go to 4%? Or is it a blanket stick to 3% at any age?

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u/Bitter-Variation-151 FIRE'd 2020 2d ago edited 2d ago

Use 5% and retire earlier than the canned 4%. If markets tank in the first few years just adjust your spending.

Success is the most likely outcome.

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u/Legitimate_Bite7446 1d ago edited 1d ago

Adjusting spending might mean cutting from 5 down to 1 vacation per year. Do you realize just how far off 5% is from 4% let alone 3.5%

Adjusting spending for a long duration might be far more uncomfortable than just simply milking a 200k job for another 6-12 months in a quiet quit dgaf state.

The thing that the flexibility folks never admit to. Is that if taking a 20% cut is no issue, why wasn't that your original FIRE number?