The statistician says rigid withdrawal rates often cause retirees to underspend. He has a formula that balances secure income with flexible spending. Our guest on the podcast today is Stefan Sharkansky. Stefan is a Ph.D. statistician who specializes in finance. He wrote a provocatively titled paper, “The Only Other Spending Rule Article You Will Ever Need,” which was published in the Financial Analyst Journal. Stefan has also developed a related website called, The Best Third, designed to help people with their retirement spending plans and portfolio structures. In addition, he developed and operates the website PersonalFund.com, which provides proprietary cost analysis of mutual funds to financial advisors. Stefan has a B.A. in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an M.S. in computer science from Stanford University, and an M.S. and a Ph.D. in statistics from the University of Washington. The Only Other Spending Rule Article You Will Ever Need https://rpc.cfainstitute.org/research/financial-analysts-journal/2025/spending-rule-article Episode Highlights 00:00:00 Introduction 00:02:43 Why the 4% Rule Can Lead to Underspending 00:07:23 TIPS Ladders vs. Retirement Annuities 00:08:48 Reducing Fixed Spending and Stock Allocation 00:12:09 Why Individual TIPS Beat TIPS Funds 00:18:53 A Formula for Stock Portfolio Withdrawals 00:23:54 Historical Returns vs. Monte Carlo Simulations 00:29:30 Should Retirees Diversify Globally? 00:32:23 Leaving a Bequest Without Underspending More From Morningstar Brett Arends: Worried About Outliving Your Money? There’s an Answer https://youtu.be/vvenMk-b8BA?si=wuZE8cmLzlDZq0OY Dana Anspach: Don’t Let Fear Ruin Your Retirement https://youtu.be/gVCpPmnVMJ8?si=zeQxaUFJTCy6krmT Bill Bengen: ‘Inflation Is the Greatest Enemy of Retirees’ https://youtu.be/m-smsy9Q_qY?si=KLP3rHBMrfftFPii If you have a comment or a guest idea, please email us at TheLongView@Morningstar.com. Follow The Long View on social media: Christine Benz on X (@christine_benz) https://x.com/christine_benz Ben Johnson on X (@MstarBenJohnson) https://x.com/MstarBenJohnson Christine Benz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-benz-b83b523 Amy Arnott on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-c-arnott-cfa-6a1a7331 Ben Johnson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-johnson-cfa-5a288175 Subscribe to Christine’s weekly newsletter, Improving Your Finances https://www.morningstar.com/newsletters/improving-your-finances Visit Morningstar.com for new research and insights from Christine, Ben, and Amy.