When planning for retirement, it’s natural to worry about factors that can erode your savings, from market volatility and inflation to unexpected expenses. The bucket strategy for retirement offers a structured way to manage these risks and maintain financial stability. 

This article explains what the bucket strategy is, the benefits it can offer, and how it might fit into your retirement plan.

What is the bucket strategy for retirement?

This approach involves dividing your assets into three distinct retirement buckets — short-term, intermediate-term, and long-term — based on when you’ll need to access the funds. By aligning your investments with your timeline and risk tolerance, the strategy helps prevent you from selling during market downturns while ensuring you can meet your income needs. These financial buckets allow you to balance liquidity, stability, and growth without disrupting longer-term investments.

The 3-bucket strategy explained

The bucket approach to retirement is about categorizing assets in your portfolio according to their liquidity and intended time horizon. Here’s a breakdown of the three investment buckets and the kinds of assets they may contain.

Bucket 1: Short-term (0–2 years)

The first bucket is designed to cover your immediate living expenses and serves as an emergency reserve. Its primary role is to provide stability and protect your portfolio from market downturns, so you don’t have to sell investments at a loss. Assets in this bucket should be highly liquid and low risk, such as cash, savings accounts, or short-term certificates of deposit (CDs). While returns will be modest, the focus here is on easy access and capital preservation.

Bucket 2: Intermediate-term (3–10 years)

The second bucket bridges the gap between short-term safety and long-term growth. It holds moderately conservative investments that provide income and some potential for capital appreciation. Common assets include fixed index annuities, short to mid-term corporate bonds, and longer-term CDs. While these assets may carry some market risk and are less liquid, they typically generate higher returns. Over time, you can use maturing assets from this bucket to refill the short-term market as needed. 

Bucket 3: Long-term (11+ years)

The final bucket is focused on long-term growth to support you later in retirement. Since you won’t need access to these funds for a decade or more, this bucket can hold more volatile, higher-return investments such as dividend-paying stocks, income annuities, and long-term bonds. The goal is to outpace inflation and build wealth for the future. 

Benefits of the bucket strategy

Many professional retirement planners use the bucket strategy to organize their clients’ assets. Here are four key reasons to consider applying this approach to your retirement portfolio. 

Risk management

One of the most significant risks to a retirement portfolio is being forced to sell investments during a market downturn. The bucket strategy ensures you have enough liquid assets in your short-term bucket to cover emergencies or unplanned expenses. That way, you don’t have to cash in long-term holdings like stocks, annuities, or CDs — many of which carry surrender charges or early withdrawal penalties.

Income stability

With your immediate income needs covered by the first bucket, you can rely on a steady stream of funds regardless of inflation or market volatility. For instance, if you need urgent access to funds, you can withdraw money from the first bucket and replenish it over time with maturing second bucket investments. This structure gives you breathing room when life throws a curveball. 

Psychological comfort

Knowing you have designated assets to meet your near-term needs can ease anxiety during market downturns, so you’re less likely to panic and make emotional decisions. The bucket system’s clear timeline gives many retirees peace of mind, even with broader economic uncertainty. 

Flexibility

The bucket strategy is adaptable. You can adjust the size of each bucket based on your spending, market performance, and life changes. For example, if your expenses decrease or your long-term investments outperform expectations, you might shift more assets to bucket two or three. This flexibility makes the strategy practical for evolving retirement needs. 

How Gainbridge can support your investment strategy

The bucket strategy is an effective approach to managing risk and long-term growth, but you need the right financial products to support it. With flexible terms and no hidden fees, Gainbridge can play a key role in your investment portfolio. Some Gainbridge annuities let you withdraw up to 10% of the cash value of your annuity after the first year without paying a surrender fee, helping you balance stability and liquidity in retirement. But, remember that if you withdraw from your annuity prior to surrender it will impact your cash value and its subsequent growth, and if you are under age 59 ½ the withdrawal will be subject to a 10% early withdrawal tax penalty.

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Contact Gainbridge to explore your investment annuity options today. 

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This article is intended for informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide, and should not be interpreted as, individualized investment, legal, or tax advice. The GainbridgeⓇ digital platform provides informational and educational resources intended only for self-directed purposes.

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