In this Book Club installment of The Personal Finance Project, we dive into Christine Benz's How to Retire—specifically her interview with retirement researcher Wade Pfau. We translate the theory into plain-English decisions: how to turn your portfolio into reliable income you'll actually feel comfortable spending.

We break down Pfau's framework across two key preferences—Safety-First vs. Probability-Based and Commitment vs. Optionality—and map them to four retirement income styles: Total Return, Time Segmentation (Buckets), Income Protection (Annuities & flooring), and Risk Wrap (variable annuities with income benefits). Along the way, we unpack sequence-of-returns risk, why spending rules matter more than most people think, how cash buffers can help in bad years, and the surprisingly pro-behavioral case for annuities when they're vetted and used for the right job.

Whether you want market upside, contractual guarantees, or a blend, this episode helps you identify the style that fits your temperament—so you can spend confidently without second-guessing every market headline.

What You'll Learn

• The two preference axes that define your income style: Safety-First vs. Probability-Based and Commitment vs. Optionality
• The four retirement income styles and who they're for:
  • Total Return: diversified portfolio + systematic withdrawals
  • Time Segmentation (Buckets): matching near-, mid-, and long-term spending to cash/bonds/equities
  • Income Protection: building a secure "floor" (Social Security + fixed annuities)
  • Risk Wrap: market participation plus a protected lifetime income benefit
• Sequence risk explained (and four ways to mitigate it): conservative starting spend, flexible spending, bucketing/glidepaths, and buffer assets (cash)
• The behavioral case for annuities: why some retirees spend more comfortably when core expenses are covered by guarantees
• Inflation reality check: use stocks/real assets as your inflation hedge; use annuities for longevity income, not CPI-matching