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Recent research shows that married retirees withdraw about 2.1% of their savings each year while spending 80% of their guaranteed income, such as Social Security.
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New analysis from Morningstar shows retirees can safely start withdrawing 3.9%, close to the classic 4% annual withdrawal rule
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Those willing to adjust their spending based on market conditions can withdraw up to nearly 6%.
Morningstar research raised its recommended safe withdrawal rate to 3.9% in December 2025, up from 3.7% the year before. But the actual behavior of retirees tells a different story.
Morningstar’s number is close to the 4% rule, one of the best-known rules in personal finance: It’s the percentage of your retirement savings you should withdraw in the first year. Each year after that, you adjust the percentage for inflation, and if you have enough saved, you should have enough to last you through retirement. But recent research shows that many retirees don’t even come close to this traditional guideline.
A 2025 study Financial Planning Review David Blanchett and Michael Finke found that married 65-year-olds with at least $100,000 in assets withdrew only 2.1% per year from their retirement accounts. Single retirees pay even less, about 1.9%. Meanwhile, retirees spend about 80 percent of their guaranteed income (such as Social Security) but only about half of their retirement savings.
The result is that while most people worry about not having enough money to retire, many retirees are living more frugally than they probably need to and may miss out on the experiences they spent their life savings on. But for others, a lower withdrawal rate isn’t unwarranted — it’s prudent based on the calculation of trying to reach retirement with less money.
Below we’ll walk you through what you need to know.
Vanguard reviewed the accounts of 70,000 retirees age 60 and older, and the findings revealed many retirees’ caution and inconsistency in how they withdraw money:
Only about one-third withdrew money in each of the years Vanguard examined, and only 20% of that group maintained a steady withdrawal rate, thought to be between 3% and 10% annually.
The median retiree in Vanguard’s sample retired with a 401(k) balance of $133,000, equivalent to 2.2 years of income. Not surprisingly, those who fully cash out tend to have smaller balances and lower incomes before retirement.
The median balance of $133,000 is a key detail. A traditional 4% withdrawal rate would provide about $5,300 per year—helpful to pay bills, but not enough to fund retirement. For retirees with less retirement savings, spending cautiously isn’t a psychological quirk but a prudent approach to reducing resources.