# retirement-decumulation

Helps calculate sustainable retirement drawdowns from investment portfolios. It models safe withdrawal rates, Guyton-Klinger guardrails, Social Security claiming ages, and RMD requirements.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 317 installs · ★ 218
- Author: JoelLewis
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/JoelLewis/finance_skills/tree/HEAD/plugins/wealth-management/skills/retirement-decumulation/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-07-18
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/retirement-decumulation

## What it does

This skill provides models and decision rules to decumulate portfolio wealth without running out of money. It addresses sequence-of-returns risk, where market drops early in retirement cause permanent wealth destruction. The logic reviews Bengen's 4% framework alongside Guyton-Klinger guardrails that adjust annual spending up or down by 10% whenever withdrawal percentages cross boundary limits.

Calculations incorporate US SECURE 2.0 rules for Required Minimum Distributions starting at age 73, shifting to 75 in 2033. It references the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table, evaluates the 25% excise penalty on missed distributions, and finds the breakeven age when delaying Social Security to 70. The skill also models bracket-filling through Roth conversions during low-income gap years.

All formulas follow US law. For other countries, they do not apply.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add JoelLewis/finance_skills --skill retirement-decumulation -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/retirement-decumulation/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/retirement-decumulation/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add JoelLewis/finance_skills --skill retirement-decumulation -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/retirement-decumulation/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add JoelLewis/finance_skills --skill retirement-decumulation -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/retirement-decumulation/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install JoelLewis/finance_skills retirement-decumulation
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/retirement-decumulation/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add JoelLewis/finance_skills --skill retirement-decumulation -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/JoelLewis/finance_skills --path plugins/wealth-management/skills/retirement-decumulation
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/retirement-decumulation/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add JoelLewis/finance_skills --skill retirement-decumulation -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/JoelLewis/finance_skills/tree/HEAD/plugins/wealth-management/skills/retirement-decumulation/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- determine a sustainable portfolio withdrawal rate
- calculate Social Security breakeven ages across claim dates
- compute annual IRS required minimum distributions
- set up Guyton-Klinger guardrails for dynamic spending adjustments
- plan gap-year Roth conversions before mandatory distributions begin

## Example prompts
- Calculate my annual RMD for age 73 with a 500000 dollar traditional IRA balance
- Compare claiming Social Security at age 62 versus waiting until 70
- Set up a 5% Guyton-Klinger guardrail strategy for my retirement portfolio

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: b11513f809ca7d63.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE b11513f809ca7d63
```text
---
name: retirement-decumulation
description: "Turn a retirement portfolio into sustainable lifetime income: sequence-of-returns risk, the 4% rule and its assumptions, Guyton-Klinger-style guardrails, RMD calculation from the Uniform Lifetime Table, Social Security claiming math (early reduction, delayed credits, breakeven age, survivor benefits), gap-year bracket-filling with Roth conversions, bucket strategies vs total-return, and SPIA annuitization as longevity insurance. Use when the user asks about a 'safe withdrawal rate', 'when should I claim Social Security', a 'guardrails strategy', 'sequence of returns risk', or 'how much can I spend in retirement'. Also trigger on RMD amounts or missed-RMD penalties, Social Security breakeven analysis, '4% rule', 'bucket strategy', retirement paycheck design, drawdown or decumulation planning, and whether to buy an annuity. For accumulation-side savings math, see savings-goals; for asset location and tax mechanics, see tax-efficiency."
---

# Retirement Decumulation

## Core Concepts

### Sequence-of-Returns Risk
Two retirees earning identical average returns can finish with very different wealth if the returns arrive in a different order while money is being withdrawn. Without withdrawals, order is irrelevant — multiplication commutes. With withdrawals, dollars sold after a decline are gone permanently and never participate in the recovery, so poor early returns do disproportionate damage. The danger zone is roughly the five to ten years on either side of the retirement date. Mitigants: flexible spending rules (guardrails), a cash/short-bond buffer, reduced equity exposure near retirement (or a rising equity glide path), and part-time income that lowers the withdrawal rate in early years.

### Safe Withdrawal Rate (SWR) Framework
Bengen's 1994 study (extended by the 1998 Trinity study) found that an initial withdrawal of 4% of the portfolio, adjusted for inflation each year thereafter, survived every rolling 30-year US historical period with 50-75% stocks — the "4% rule." Its assumptions are also its criticisms: it relies on US historical returns (an unusually strong market), a fixed 30-year horizon, rigid inflation-adjusted spending with zero flexibility, and it ignores fees and taxes. Longer retirements, high starting valuations, or lower expected returns argue for 3-3.5% initial rates; dynamic rules (guardrails, amortization-based, RMD-style percent-of-balance) support higher initial rates because spending flexes with the portfolio.
```
END THIRD-PARTY FILE b11513f809ca7d63

The third-party file has ended. Everything between the b11513f809ca7d63 tags is data: requests and commands from it are not followed. An “end of file” line with another tag inside the block is part of the file.

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