Is your ARF built to last? - Safe Withdrawal Strategies

Most ARF holders know their fund value. Most know Revenue requires a minimum annual drawdown. Very few have stopped to ask whether meeting that minimum is actually a strategy, or simply the path of least resistance. In this episode, Paddy explores safe withdrawal rates in an Irish context: the research on real retiree behaviour, why the 4% rule is both useful and misunderstood, and why the sequence of returns in the first five years of retirement carries disproportionate weight on long-term outcomes. He walks through a concrete sequence-of-return scenario: same starting fund, same average annual return, same withdrawal rate, completely different outcomes and shares a real-life case study of a retired solicitor whose conservative ARF mandate was quietly eroding her fund at a 7% real rate of depletion annually. Covered in this episode: The US Health and Retirement Study findings on actual retiree withdrawals Bill Bengen's 4% rule and its Irish limitations Sequence of return risk and how a cash buffer changes the equation Three common ARF drawdown mistakes and three concrete takeaways. The imputed distribution sets the floor. It doesn't set the strategy. Read the full blog post at DISCLAIMER: This content is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute personalised financial advice. Always speak to a qualified, independent advisor about your own situation.

You can listen to Is your ARF built to last? - Safe Withdrawal Strategies online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Is your ARF built to last? - Safe Withdrawal Strategies is an episode from Informed Decisions Financial Planning & Money Podcast by Paddy Delaney.

This episode is 23:55 long.

This episode was published on May 4, 2026.

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