Basically, if you've reached the retirement age, you should have accumulated enough savings to be able to safely withdraw an amount every year without that amount losing too much total value (due to the fact that the assets are invested properly). However, how much to withdraw every year will depend on your unique situation, and how you have invested these assets. For example, if you have 3 million dollars saved up by the age of 65 and they are invested in bonds, you can pretty much safely withdraw around 3 to 4% every year since that's the ROI on bonds. Of course, this doesn't account for inflation so be wary of that. If you have a very well-diversified portfolio of primarily stocks and they are generating an average of 10% a year, you can most likely withdraw around 7% safely and any minor economic downturns won't hurt you too much. On the other hand if you are a landlord and own a lot of property, you may want to consider the type of tenants you have. If you have a lot of tenants that are consistently paying on time with full time jobs and whom are all very reliable, you can most likely safely withdraw the amount they are paying you, as long as the house has been fully paid for. But if you have inconsistent tenants or unsure whether you will bring in tenants that are reliable enough to pay their rent, then you may want to limit your withdrawal from these properties in case of tenants not paying one month. Another thing to consider is if you have pension. When you have other income streams coming in in retirement, you are no longer depending fully on your retirement assets for income and thus you may be able to withdraw a little less. What about if you have kids? Having kids means you want to prioritize maximizing their ESA or educational savings account, assuming you want them to go to college, and what successful parent wouldn't want their kids to? How much you withdraw every year in retirement depends on so many factors that it's not possible to have a set amount mentioned, like 4% or 7%. It is up to your situation. How much do you plan on withdrawing every year from your savings and assets in retirement?