Ever since this 4% rule was proposed, people have argued whether the “right” number is a little lower or higher than 4%. But nearly every time I see this rule used to reverse engineer the amount one needs to save for retirement, the calculation is done incorrectly.
Let me explain how to calculate the amount you need to save before retirement correctly. The error I see perpetuated is in how the 4% rule is used to reverse engineer the amount one needs for retirement and sounds something like this.