Christine Benz, David Blanchett, and Karsten Jeske: The State of Retirement Income

This week we’re pleased to bring you a special “State of Retirement Income” episode, which we recorded live at the annual Morningstar Investment Conference held recently in Chicago, Illinois. For this discussion, we turn the tables on Christine, who is part of an expert retirement planning panel that also includes David Blanchett, managing director and head of retirement research at PGIM DC Solutions, and Karsten Jeske, the founder of Early Retirement Now. Both were guests on past episodes of The Long View. In this panel discussion, recorded before a live audience, we delve into a number of retirement-planning topics, including the impact of inflation on spending patterns; the implications of the recent selloff on asset allocation; sequence-of-returns risk; optimal Social Security-claiming practices; the role and importance of guaranteed income sources; and a lot more. Without further ado, please enjoy this special episode of The Long View. Background “Karsten Jeske: Cracking the Code on Retirement Spending Rates,” The Long View podcast, Morningstar.com, Oct. 14, 2020. Karsten Jeske’s blog, Early Retirement Now Karsten Jeske’s bio David Blanchett’s bio “David Blanchett: If You’re Retiring Now, You’re in a Pretty Rough Spot,” The Long View podcast, Morningstar.com, Sept. 18, 2019. “Christine Benz and John Rekenthaler: How Much Can You Safely Spend in Retirement?” The Long View podcast, Morningstar.com, Dec. 21, 2021. Inflation “How Much Should You Worry About Inflation in Retirement?” by Christine Benz, Morningstar.com, March 26, 2021. “Exploring the Retirement Consumption Puzzle,” by David Blanchett, financialplanningassociation.org, May 2014. Safe Withdrawal Rates The Trinity Study “The Safe Withdrawal Rate Series—A Guide for First-Time Readers,” by Karsten Jeske, EarlyRetirementNow.com, Nov. 15, 2021. “The State of Retirement Income: Safe Withdrawal Rates,” by Christine Benz, Jeffrey Ptak, and John Rekenthaler, Morningstar.com, November 2021. “What’s a Safe Retirement Spending Rate for the Decades Ahead?” by Christine Benz and John Rekenthaler, Morningstar.com, Nov. 11, 2021. “Drawdown From Financial Accounts in Retirement,” Vanguard Research by Thomas J. De Luca and Anna Madamba, vanguard.com, July 2021. Retirement Portfolio Construction “Cliff Asness: Value Stocks Still Look Like a Bargain,” The Long View podcast, Morningstar.com, May 31, 2022. “Bonds May Be Down, But Some Annuity Payouts Are Up,” by David Blanchett, thinkadvisor.com, May 13, 2022. “Inflation at 7%! Here’s Why I’m Not Running for the Hills (Yet)!” by Karsten Jeske, earlyretirementnow.com, Jan. 13, 2022. “The Bucket Approach to Retirement Allocation,” by Christine Benz, Morningstar.com, Jan. 25, 2021. Christine Benz’s model bucket portfolios Harold Evensky What Is a Monte Carlo Simulation? Guaranteed Income and Social Security “Guaranteed Income: A License to Spend,” by David Blanchett and Michael Finke, papers.ssrn.com, June 28, 2021. Open Social Security Other “Laura Carstensen: ‘I’m Suggesting We Change the Way We Work,’” The Long View podcast, Morningstar.com, Sept. 14, 2021. “Eight Centuries of Global Real Interest Rates, R-G, and the ‘Suprasecular’ Decline, 1311-2018,” by Paul Schmelzing, bankofengland.co.uk, January 2020.