The continuing saga of the 4% rule: Creating & managing a retirement withdrawal plan

William P. Bengen practiced fee-only financial planning in Southern California for 25 years. He is a retired member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors. Bengen received a B.S. from MIT in Aeronautics and Astronautics. He worked for 17 years with his family-owned soft-drink-bottling franchise firm in the New York metropolitan area, serving a tenure as president and COO. In 1987 Bengen migrated with his wife and two daughters to the gentler climes of Southern California, where he founded his practice, earning his CFP® certification in 1990 and his Master's degree in financial planning in 1993. He retired from financial advising in 2013 but remains active in researching topics related to the so-called "4% rule." He plans an update to his book in late 2021. In October of 1994 Bengen published his first research paper establishing the so-called "4% rule", which posits limits to safe withdrawals from retirees' investment portfolios. In succeeding years, Bengen published additional research expanding on the original findings. Bengen's articles and quotations have appeared in numerous publications, including the Journal of Financial Planning, Financial Planning magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Forbes, the NY Times, Kiplinger's, Financial Advisor magazine, and Bottom Line. He has presented his research on conservation of client retirement portfolios at numerous financial planning conferences and meetings. In 2014 he was the recipient of the NAPFA Robert J. Underwood Distinguished Service Award. Bengen currently lives in Saddlebrooke, Arizona, about twenty miles north of Tucson. He is seeking to launch a fourth career as an author of novels.