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How Our 3-Bucket Retirement System Beat the Traditional 60/40 Portfolio by Over 250% (2001-2024)
Markets go up - and markets crash. But with a smart, time-based bucket strategy, you can build retirement income that's steady, resilient, and grows dramatically over time. Discover how we consistently outperformed the classic balanced fund benchmark - and what that means for your retirement.
How are these types of returns possible?
The short answer: time and investment diversification based on individual needs. Focused investment strategies that meet individual income needs while ensuring stability in those first critical 7 years. Our 3-Bucket System protects against the biggest risk to retirement plans - sequence of returns risk - where poor returns early in retirement permanently damage financial security.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOUR RETIREMENT - AND WHY IT WORKS
Whether you expect to retire soon, are in early retirement, or still have 5-10 years until your planned retirement - the logic still applies. The 3-Bucket System doesn't require perfect market timing - it requires structure, discipline, and time.
You get predictable, sustainable income during the most vulnerable early years of retirement.
You avoid the risk of having to sell depressed assets during market downturns.
You give your long-term savings time to grow - compounding over decades while reducing withdrawals from growth assets.
You balance your lifestyle, legacy goals, and growth - all with a plan that adapts, not just survives.
You spend with confidence, knowing where your income comes from, how long it lasts, and what's fueling it.
What is the 3 Bucket System and How does it Work?
We created the three-bucket system to simplify the retirement planning process and ensure that every element that matters is covered, through each stage of retirement, from the first 7 critical years to the final years regardless of whether your retirement lasts 20 years or 40.
Bucket 1, Your Retirement Paycheck
key task:
Focuses on income stability in those first critical 7 years
A mix of conservative fixed-income investments that sustain expenses in the first ~7 years of retirement
You don't rely on selling growth assets during a downturn
Ensures Buckets 2 and 3 are untouched so they can build medium and long-term growth
Bucket 2, Medium Term Growth to Refill Bucket 1
key task:
A mix of moderate-risk investments designed to replenish Bucket 1 over time
Smooths out intermediate needs
Bucket 3, Long Term Wealth Preservation
key task:
A mix of equities and growth-oriented assets that ride out market cycles
Builds real growth over decades - the growth needed to refill Bucket 2
Designed to outpace projected inflation
Why We Created and How We Came Up with the 3 Bucket System
Retirement isn't a single number - it's a decades-long journey. With bear markets, recessions, inflation shocks, and interest-rate swings, relying on a static portfolio can feel like walking a tightrope. That's exactly the vulnerability we saw: the classic balanced portfolio (the 60/40 mix) may look stable - until you retire right before a crash.
Our question was simple: Is there a better way? A way that gives retirees not just growth - but sustainable income, lower risk, and long-term security.
The result: the 3-Bucket Retirement System, a time-horizon-based, purpose-driven strategy that adapts to your needs over time.
Let's build a plan that doesn't just survive retirement - but makes retirement secure, predictable, and fulfilling. If you want to see how a 3-Bucket plan could work for your situation:
Download the 3-Bucket Retirement Performance Report (full 23-year backtest, withdrawal simulations, income projections).
Book a Free 3-Bucket Retirement Plan Review - a one-on-one session where we map your goals, run projections, and show realistic income & growth paths.
Frequently Asked Questions.
Straight answers to common questions about the 3-Bucket System and how it works.