In this episode of The Baird Retirement Management Show, we continue our series on Christine Benz's book How to Retire—this time focusing on her interview with renowned financial author and thinker William Bernstein. Bernstein is well-known for his foundational books like The Four Pillars of Investing and The Intelligent Asset Allocator, and in this chapter, he outlines a methodical, conservative approach to retirement investing—building portfolios to withstand the worst 2% of outcomes, prioritizing TIPS ladders, and emphasizing protection from inflation above all else. But while we respect Bernstein's intellect and his contributions to the field, we don't agree with all of his conclusions. In this episode, we offer a practitioner's perspective on where theory often clashes with real-world experience. We unpack his four key portfolio questions—burn rate, age, risk tolerance, and bequest desire—and contrast them with the way we approach planning: starting with actual client goals and needs, then building portfolios to support those with as little risk as necessary. We also discuss: Why focusing solely on income-producing assets can be misleading The gap between inflation in theory and what retirees actually experience Where annuities can play a helpful role—even if Bernstein disagrees The danger of overrelying on academic models without accounting for human behavior This is a balanced, respectful pushback on some widely respected ideas, and a reminder that financial planning is as much about people as it is about numbers.

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