Retirement Income Roadmap: From Accumulation to Decumulation

Financial Planning, Retirement Planning
Published Date: October 1, 2025
Last Modified: 3 weeks ago

How do you transition from accumulation to decumulation?

A Retirement Income Roadmap is a strategic plan that moves you from the accumulation phase—saving and investing during your working life—to the decumulation phase, where you convert those assets into a reliable retirement income stream while managing taxes, longevity, and market risks.

Overview

Transitioning from accumulation to decumulation means changing your financial priorities: from maximizing savings and taking investment risk for growth, to generating predictable cash flow, managing taxes, and protecting capital against longevity and market downturns. In my practice advising retirees for 15+ years, I’ve seen that having a structured roadmap reduces anxiety and raises the odds that assets will support the retiree’s lifestyle.

Why the roadmap matters

Defined-contribution plans now place more responsibility on individuals to manage both accumulation and decumulation (U.S. Department of Labor).
Social Security timing, Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs), Medicare eligibility, and longevity risk all intersect with withdrawal timing and tax decisions (Social Security Administration; IRS; Medicare.gov).
The roadmap is not a single rule (like the 4% rule) but a toolkit of strategies tailored to goals, health, taxes, and risk tolerance. For background on common withdrawal heuristics, see FinHelp’s guide on the [4% rule](

Financial Planning, Retirement Planning

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