I reject the 4% rule for my retirement. Here’s why you might want to do the same.

Because I know Social Security won’t pay me that much in retirement, and because I’m aware that benefits may be reduced, I’m doing my best to build a sizable nest egg. But I also know that accumulating savings for retirement is not enough.

You can easily throw away a million dollar nest egg if you’re not careful about how you manage your money. That’s why my goal is not just to save for retirement, but to come up with a strategy to make that money last.

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For years, financial experts have recommended the 4% rule for this purpose. The rule of thumb is that if you withdraw 4% of your savings, balance the first year of retirement and adjust future withdrawals for inflation, it should last 30 years.

I find that last part cute because running out of money is a scary thought. But while I like the idea of ​​the 4% rule in theory, it just doesn’t work for me. Here’s why.

It’s too restrictive

The 4% plus or minus rule forces you to stick to one withdrawal rate throughout retirement. My problem is that retirement expenses don’t always stay constant from year to year.

You may have one year where you need to make several major home repairs and another year where things are going well and you spend minimally on maintenance. You may also have a year full of family occasions that require you to travel, and a year where you’d prefer to stay mostly close to home.

I need a withdrawal strategy with more flexibility than the 4% rule — one that can force me to withdraw 6% of my nest egg one year and 3% the next. And I’d prefer my withdrawals to be need-based rather than pre-set.

It makes too many assumptions

The 4% rule assumes that your nest egg is split fairly evenly between stocks and bonds. I happen to think this is an appropriate asset allocation for someone in retirement. But that’s how I feel now, as a non-retiree. I don’t know how comfortable I’ll be with that allocation at a time when I’m not working. And since the 4% rule depends on that allocation, I don’t want to commit to that.

Also, the 4% rule assumes you need your savings to last 30 years. A big part of me wishes I never retire, but if I do, I hope to continue working in some capacity for as long as possible. If that is the case, however, and I retire at 75, I shouldn’t have to manage my withdrawals the same way as someone who retires at 62.

Make your own rule

There’s nothing wrong with using the 4% rule as a starting point for managing your retirement nest egg. But instead of assuming it’s the best withdrawal strategy for you, consider your needs, wants and investment mix. Then, run some numbers to see what withdrawal rate works for you, keeping in mind that it’s okay for that rate to change from year to year.

And if you need or want the help of a financial advisor to manage your retirement savings, that’s complete too. I write about these things every day, and I also have an advisor who helps me manage some of my portfolio and talk about important financial decisions.

Working with an advisor can get you to a place where you feel comfortable with how you manage your savings. And if you work as hard as I do to build them, you deserve that peace of mind.