While we cannot republish the entire PDF here for copyright reasons, we can summarize the most powerful, actionable tips that appear in nearly every version of Fisher’s list.
Tip #29: Use the 4% rule as a starting point, not a jail sentence. The famous "4% rule" (withdraw 4% of your portfolio in year one, adjust for inflation thereafter) works for average retirements. But Fisher adds: Be flexible. If the market crashes 30%, skip the inflation adjustment for a year.
Tip #34: Pay off your mortgage? Not so fast. If you have a 3% mortgage and your portfolio earns 7%, you lose money by paying off the house early. The PDF suggests keeping cheap debt in retirement.
Tip #41: Delay Social Security aggressively. For every year you delay Social Security past your full retirement age (up to age 70), your benefit grows by roughly 8%. Fisher calls this the best "risk-free" return available, especially for married couples. ken fisher 99 retirement tips pdf
Fisher is famous for telling investors to ignore financial headlines. A significant portion of his tips addresses behavioral finance—specifically, how our brains trick us into making bad money moves.
The overarching theme of Fisher’s 99 tips is that retirement isn't a date on a calendar; it is a financial planning problem. Many of the tips focus on shifting your mindset from "saving" to "spending down."
Key Takeaway: The biggest risk in retirement isn't market volatility; it is longevity risk (the risk of outliving your money). Fisher argues that you need a plan that accounts for a 30-year time horizon, not just the first five years of leisure. While we cannot republish the entire PDF here
One of the most common pieces of retirement advice is that you will only need 70% to 80% of your pre-retirement income. Fisher challenges this aggressively in his tips.
Tip #52: Turn off the financial news. Fisher is ruthless about CNBC, Bloomberg, and cable news. He argues they profit from your anxiety. The PDF suggests checking your portfolio quarterly, not hourly.
Tip #58: Ignore "Dry Powder" arguments. Holding cash waiting for a crash (dry powder) almost always fails. The market goes up 70% of the time. By waiting, you lose the 70% to capture the 30%. But Fisher adds: Be flexible
Tip #64: Beware the "Recency Bias." Just because the market crashed in 2008 or 2020 doesn't mean it will crash again tomorrow. The PDF forces you to look at 100-year charts, not 5-year charts.
Tip #81: Don't leave your kids guessing. Write a "Letter of Instruction" explaining why you made certain investments. Without context, a surviving spouse or child might panic-sell everything at the worst time.
Tip #88: Roth conversions in low-income years. If you retire at 65 but don't take Social Security until 70, you have a 5-year window of low taxable income. Convert Traditional IRA funds to Roth during these years.
Tip #95: Long-term care insurance—buy it young. Fisher suggests buying LTC insurance in your mid-50s. Waiting until 65 makes it prohibitively expensive or medically disqualifying.
Tip #99: Remember the "Go-Go Years." The final tip is a philosophical gut punch: "You are not saving for your funeral. You are saving for your life. Spend it."