Meet Clarence…

Clarence has spent his entire working life preparing for the golden years, carefully following the best financial advice Wall Street had to offer. Now, at 65, he’s ready to execute his retirement plan—a plan built for maximum excitement, stress, and unpredictability.
 

Unlike the unfortunate souls who have locked themselves into predictable, guaranteed lifetime income, Clarence has ensured that every single year of retirement will be a financial adventure. He has only two retirement income strategies he would ever consider:
 

1. The 4% Withdrawal Rule – A proven strategy for retirees who enjoy watching their portfolio shrink unpredictably while hoping the market cooperates.
    

2. The “Live Off Interest Only” Strategy – For those who find joy in scrambling for new interest rates every few years, ensuring a steady decline in purchasing power.
    

Clarence is thrilled to be in NO control of his financial destiny, free from the constraints of things like guarantees, stability, and logical planning.

 

The 4% Withdrawal Rule: A Game of Financial Russian Roulette
 

Clarence’s plan is simple. He has amassed a comfortable stock portfolio, and each year he will withdraw 4% of whatever remains and hope for the best.
 

He loves the thrill of never knowing exactly how much money he’ll have in retirement. Some years will be great! Other years will force him to slash expenses, cancel vacations, and tell his grandkids they’ll have to settle for postcards instead of visits.
 

This strategy comes with several key “features” that Clarence particularly enjoys:
 

• No guarantees – Every January 1st, he wakes up and wonders, “Will this be the year my portfolio drops 30% and forces me to delay home repairs, cut expenses, and rethink my entire retirement lifestyle?”
   

• Sequence of returns risk – If the market tanks in the early years, Clarence gets the rare opportunity to experience firsthand what it’s like to run out of money decades earlier than expected.
   

• Advisor fees – Unlike those who foolishly lock in predictable income, Clarence enjoys paying an advisor 1-2% per year to keep him invested in market-based income strategies that could drop his income by 20-40% at any moment.
   

For Clarence, this is what retirement is all about—staying engaged, watching the markets daily, and making sure he has just enough stress to keep things interesting.

 

The “Live Off Interest Only” Strategy: The Ultimate Financial Scavenger Hunt
 

For the more conservative side of his portfolio, Clarence has chosen the time-tested 5% bond and CD interest-only method. Why withdraw principal when you can simply live off whatever interest rates happen to be available at the time?

Clarence enjoys several key aspects of this strategy:
 

• The renewal rate hunt – Every 3-5 years, he embarks on an exciting scavenger hunt to find the best available rates. Will he be able to keep his income at 5%, or will falling rates cut it to 2.25%? No one knows!
   

• Inflation erosion – Since his income is fixed at whatever rate he can find, and he is withdrawing 100% of his earnings each year for income, Clarence gets to watch his purchasing power decline every single year. He considers it a personal challenge to find creative ways to live on less.
   

• Locked-up principal – To ensure his income stream stays intact, Clarence permanently ties up all his capital in fixed-interest accounts, making it completely unavailable for emergencies, growth, or any real financial flexibility.
   

For Clarence, this method is far superior to annuity laddering because instead of knowing his income will increase over time with an annuity ladder – regardless of market conditions or interest rate renewal risk, he gets to hope that rates will be favorable at every renewal. 

Much more exciting!

The Near Disaster: Clarence Almost Got Stuck With a “Boring” Retirement Plan
 

Recently, Clarence had a close call. He made the terrible mistake of booking a live educational demo with a retirement income specialist who focuses on laddered income annuity portfolios.
 

The advisor almost ruined everything by showing Clarence the math behind a custom annuity ladder combined with a low-cost ETF /growth and recovery of principal bucket.
 

Clarence was horrified. The numbers showed that:
 

• His annual income would be 47% higher than his current plan.
   

• He would receive scheduled 20% raises every five years.
   

• His income would last indefinitely, with no risk of running out.
   

To make matters worse, the advisor explained how this strategy would reduce the downside market risk on Clarence’s income from 100% to zero—completely eliminating the need to check the markets daily or worry about interest rate renewals.
 

Clarence was furious. This so-called “plan” would have completely destroyed everything he loves about retirement planning.

 

The Final Insult: Survivor Benefits for His Wife and Heirs?!
 

Just when Clarence thought it couldn’t get any worse, he discovered an even bigger outrage.
 

This so-called annuity laddering plan didn’t just provide guaranteed income for him—it also included full survivor benefits for his wife and heirs.
 

Clarence nearly lost it.
 

• If he dies early, his wife would continue receiving income.
   

• If both he and his wife pass, his kids would inherit the full remaining annuity values.
   

• Instead of financial uncertainty for his entire family, they would be stuck with stability and security.
   

Clarence had never been so relieved to dodge a bullet. He sent the advisor packing and immediately returned to his market-based strategy of hope, risk, and unpredictability.

 

Final Warning: DO NOT Book a Live Strategy Session
 

Clarence barely escaped this trap. If he had followed the numbers, he might have ended up with a financially secure retirement, an optimized income strategy, and peace of mind for himself and his family.
 

So take it from Clarence:
 

❌ DO NOT book a complimentary strategy session.

❌ We repeat: DO NOT get a live demo of the math.

❌ Avoid this dangerous knowledge at all costs!
 

Because if you do, you might accidentally learn how to generate 20-60% more lifetime income while preserving and regrowing your principal. And that level of predictability could be devastating to anyone who wishes to enjoy financial adventure and excitement during retirement.