Designing Your Immortal Financial Plan
- December 10, 2025
- by Dennis McNamara
“Enough” Isn’t a Number — It’s a Lifestyle.” - Raad Ghantous
How do we build a life of meaning, and make sure our money supports it all the way through?
This is not just about outliving your money. It is about living well at every stage. With strength. With options. With freedom.
The Status Quo Is Broken
Retirement planning is stuck in the past.
Most traditional models assume a 30-year retirement and a fixed withdrawal strategy. That fantasy does not match the reality facing Gen X. Many of us are looking at retirements that could last as long as our careers, with spending that comes in waves, not straight lines, plus new risks that previous generations never had to price in.
In a world like this, outdated models push people into two equally bad outcomes: overspending too early, or under-living out of fear.
Below, I will break down what is flawed about the most common withdrawal strategy and outline a better, more dynamic approach rooted in behavioral finance and actual human life patterns.
But first, we need to ask the honest question:
How much is “enough”?
The Accumulation Phase
We all know the basic, reliable strategy for building assets: save and invest early and consistently.
The harder part is knowing when your nest egg is “adequate.”
There is no magic number.
What you need is a function of what you spend.
The more your lifestyle demands, the more you need to save.
The less it demands, the more freedom you gain on when and how you design your next chapter.
That said, two common benchmarks show up often in retirement planning:
The 4% Rule
A classic rule of thumb says you can withdraw 4% of your portfolio annually.
So if you want to spend $80,000 per year in retirement, you would need roughly $2 million saved.
We will poke holes in this later, but it gives a rough starting point.
The 10x Salary Rule
Another benchmark suggests aiming to save:
- 1x salary by age 30
- 3x salary by age 40
- 6x salary by age 50
- 8x salary by age 60
- 10x salary by age 67
These are just guide rails. Future spending, market conditions, and tax realities across account types matter a lot in determining what “enough” actually means.
What’s Wrong with the 4% Rule
The 4% Rule is convenient, but far from optimal.
It was built on historical backtesting, not real-world adaptability. It assumes:
- market history repeats itself
- retirees have predictable, static spending
- withdrawals remain fixed even in down markets
In other words, it is an easy heuristic, not a strategy designed for real human lives.
Also, an uncomfortable truth: many advisors love the 4% Rule because it allows them to manage client books efficiently, not because it produces the best outcomes for the people living the plan.
It prioritizes ease over customization.
And for Gen X, customization is the whole game.
A Better Approach to Retirement Planning
A more durable approach combines four things:
- Securing baseline income
- Dynamic withdrawals
- Smart asset allocation
- Spending buffers
Let’s walk through them.
Step 1: Secure Your Minimum Income Floor
Minimum Dignity Floor (MDF)
Your necessities are not negotiable. You need a plan for housing, utilities, transportation, food, and healthcare. That is your Minimum Dignity Floor.
To estimate it, total your core expenses and subtract guaranteed income like Social Security or pensions. The remaining gap must be funded through portfolio withdrawals or other secure income sources.
Bond Ladders
Bond ladders provide predictable cash flow. By aligning bond maturities with future expenses, retirees can cover monthly and annual needs without relying on market timing.
A well-designed ladder can cover 7–10+ years of spending depending on risk tolerance and other income sources. Target-date bond funds (often ETFs) can add diversification and easier liquidity.
Annuities
Annuities get a bad rap, and much of it is deserved. Many are high-fee and sold poorly.
But low-fee annuities can play a role by hedging longevity risk and creating stable lifetime income. Their main limitation is inflation protection.
Many inflation riders cap adjustments at about 3% per year. Inflation has averaged just above that historically, but it can spike well beyond it. So annuities can be useful, but they are imperfect and should be used with discernment.
Step 2: Use a Dynamic Withdrawal Strategy
Retirement spending is not a flat line. It follows what researchers call the “retirement spending smile.”
You spend more early in retirement when life is active, travel is easy, and curiosity is on fire. Spending dips in the slower middle years. Then expenses rise again later due to healthcare and support costs.
A dynamic withdrawal strategy respects that reality.
Instead of pulling the same amount every year, discretionary spending should be front-loaded in the years when retirees are healthiest and most mobile.
This naturally creates flexibility for increased medical costs later.
In practice, we use spending guardrails.
We set a baseline and adjust withdrawals only if the portfolio hits upper or lower limits.
- If markets perform well and hit an upper guardrail, spending rises.
- If markets drop and hit a lower guardrail, temporary spending cuts protect long-term security.
This keeps retirees from living smaller than they need to early on, while still protecting the plan when markets misbehave.
Step 3: Optimize Asset Management
The high-level approach is simple: align assets with time horizons.
- Years 0–10 of retirement: Keep 7–10 years of withdrawals in safe assets like bonds, cash reserves, or annuities. This protects against sequence risk.
- Years 10+: Equities are earmarked for longer-term needs, giving them time to recover from volatility and still grow.
Then we layer in the more surgical work:
Roth Conversions
Early retirement can be the sweet spot for converting pre-tax assets to Roth, especially between retirement and the start of Social Security. Filling lower tax brackets now creates long-term tax freedom later.
Own Assets That Outpace Inflation
Inflation erodes purchasing power, but productive assets tend to outpace it. Public equities and real estate historically do this well.
Gold and commodities may hedge inflation, but they do not generate income. Productive assets preserve purchasing power through growth and cash flow.
Mind Your Fees
Fees quietly drain portfolios over time.
- Use low-cost index funds when possible
- Scrutinize advisory fees for real value
- Reduce turnover and hidden tax drag
Every basis point saved is more freedom later.
Tax Efficiency
Taxes are the slow leak in most retirement plans. Placement matters.
- Put tax-inefficient assets (REITs, high-dividend funds, certain fixed income) in tax-deferred or tax-free accounts
- Keep speculative upside stocks in taxable accounts for loss harvesting and capital gains treatment
- Consider municipal bonds for taxable income needs
The goal is not just to minimize taxes. It is to stop pointless wealth erosion so your money fuels the life you actually want.
Step 4: Maintain Spending Buffers
6–12 Month Liquidity Reserve
A liquidity reserve helps you avoid selling assets at a loss for unexpected costs like health needs, home repairs, or family support.
HELOC as a Sequence-Risk Buffer
A home equity line of credit can be tapped during down markets, avoiding forced sales when portfolios are temporarily depressed.
Delaying Social Security as a Longevity Hedge
One of the most effective hedges against longevity risk is delaying Social Security until age 70.
- Benefits increase about 8% per year past full retirement age
- COLAs are tied to inflation, offering stronger inflation protection than most annuities
- Break-even usually lands around age 78–84
- In two-income households, delaying the higher earner’s benefit protects the surviving spouse later
Why this matters
The American Academy of Actuaries estimates that for a married, non-smoking couple at age 65, there is about a 15% chance at least one spouse lives to 100.
Delaying Social Security is not just personal optimization. It is protecting the life of the person you love most if you go first.
A Well-Constructed Plan
A well-constructed plan is not only about numbers. It is about confidence, adaptability, and the freedom to live fully without panic in the background.
The goal is not simply to preserve wealth. It is to use it with intention.
To fund experiences.
Strengthen relationships.
Create “memory dividends” that compound in meaning long after the money is spent.
Markets will fluctuate. Interest rates will shift. Life will surprise you.
But if your plan is dynamic, disciplined, and built around what you can control, your wealth serves its real purpose.
Not just lasting a lifetime. But enriching it.
True immortality may still be science fiction, but a well-designed financial plan ensures your resources live as long as you do, and support the life you actually want along the way.
The Raad Life: 5 Takeaways
1. “Enough” Isn’t a Number. It’s a Lifestyle.
Your retirement readiness isn’t defined by a magic portfolio balance. It’s defined by what you spend, what you value, and how intentionally you design your next chapter. Freedom isn’t found in a figure, it’s found in alignment.
2. Static Rules Create Static Lives.
The 4% Rule is simple, but simplicity comes at the cost of reality. Gen X doesn’t live static lives, and our spending isn’t linear. A dynamic withdrawal plan honors the actual rhythm of life.
3. Secure Your Minimum Dignity Floor First.
Before dreaming big, protect the basics: housing, food, healthcare, mobility, safety. When your essentials are guaranteed through Social Security, bonds, annuities, or other reliable income, everything above that becomes choice, not fear-driven restraint.
4. Your Portfolio Should Match Your Lifespan, Not a Spreadsheet.
Retirement can last 30–40 years. The first 10 require safety. Beyond that, growth matters. Smart allocation, Roth conversions, tax efficiency, and managing fees aren’t “advanced tactics,” they’re how you ensure your money grows with you, not against you.
5. Money Is a Tool for Meaning, Not a Monument.
A well-built plan doesn’t just help your money last. It helps you live with options, with freedom, and without the background hum of financial anxiety. Your wealth exists to fund relationships, experiences, and vitality. The goal is not to die with the biggest account balance…but to live with the fullest life.
