What Is a Safe Withdrawal Rate?
Where the 4% rule came from, why the modern debate lives between 3.5% and 4.5%, and how sequence-of-returns risk and taxes change what "safe" really means.
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Planomy guides
Retirement & tax planning, explained
Deep, plain-English guides to the decisions that shape a US retirement: how much you can safely withdraw, how to fill low-tax years with Roth conversions, where each dollar should live while you save, and which accounts to spend first. Written to be bookmarked — the strategy behind Planomy's free calculators.
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Twelve guides that build on each other — from "how much do I need?" to the tax moves that stretch every dollar. Read them in order or jump to the question you have today.
The Roth Conversion Ladder, Explained
How to move money from a traditional IRA to Roth a bracket at a time, the five-year rule that governs it, and why the gap years before RMDs are the golden window — with a worked example.
Read the guide401(k) vs IRA vs Roth vs HSA
2026 contribution limits, how each account is taxed — now, later, or never — and a clear priority order for where each dollar should go: match first, HSA next, then the rest.
Read the guideWhich Accounts to Draw Down First
The conventional taxable → traditional → Roth order, and the real-world reasons to break it: bracket filling, the 0% capital-gains rate, gap-year conversions, RMDs, and IRMAA.
Read the guideHow Much Do You Need to Retire?
The 25× rule that turns spending into a portfolio target, how Social Security and pensions shrink the number, and why inflation and taxes reshape what "enough" means.
Read the guideSequence of Returns Risk, Explained
Why the order of returns — not just the average — can make or break a retirement, why the first decade is the danger zone, and how bond tents, cash buffers, and guardrails defend against it.
Read the guideRMD Rules and Deadlines (2026)
When required distributions start (age 73), the April 1 first-year deadline, how the amount is calculated, the 25% penalty for missing one, QCDs, and the Roth exceptions.
Read the guideRoth vs Traditional 401(k): How to Choose
The one difference that matters — when you pay the tax — the bracket rule of thumb, why the employer match is always pre-tax, and why splitting your contributions is often the smart hedge.
Read the guideThe Backdoor Roth IRA, Step by Step
Earn too much for a Roth? Contribute to a traditional IRA and convert. The two moves, the pro-rata rule that trips people up, Form 8606, and worked dollar examples.
Read the guide401(k) Rollover Options When You Leave
Leave it, roll to an IRA, move to a new 401(k), or cash out — the four choices when changing jobs, plus the direct-vs-indirect and cash-out tax traps that cost thousands.
Read the guideHow Social Security Benefits Are Taxed
Provisional income explained: the 50% and 85% thresholds that decide how much of your benefit is taxed, worked examples, and a plain-English state-tax overview.
Read the guideThe Bucket Strategy for Retirement Income
How the three-bucket approach — cash, bonds, stocks — defends against sequence risk, how it compares to systematic withdrawals, and the trade-offs to weigh before using it.
Read the guidePrefer to run the numbers?
Every guide points to a calculator that turns the idea into a figure for your own situation. Browse all of our free, private calculators — retirement drawdown, FIRE number, Roth conversion, RMDs, IRMAA, and more.
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Guides explain the ideas; Planomy puts them together — account types, taxes, Social Security, withdrawals, and plan-vs-actual tracking. Free, private, and running entirely in your browser.
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