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The 4% Rule Just Dropped to 3.9% — But Your RRIF Doesn't Care

  Published August 5, 2026 Morningstar's newest research says retirees can safely start withdrawing 3.9% a year. Ottawa's RRIF rules don't ask what's "safe" — they just tell you how much to take out, whether the math agrees or not. For years, the shortcut retirees leaned on was simple: take out 4% of your portfolio in your first year of retirement, bump it up with inflation every year after, and your savings should last three decades. Morningstar's 2026 State of Retirement Income report just trimmed that number to 3.9%. On its own, that's a small adjustment. On a $500,000 portfolio, it's the difference between withdrawing $19,500 or $20,000 in year one. But for Canadians, the number that actually controls the withdrawal isn't Morningstar's — it's the Canada Revenue Agency's. And once your RRSP becomes a Registered Retirement Income Fund, the CRA's required minimum can blow right past whatever a "safe" withdrawal rate i...

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US stocks hope for economic stability after record highs

 


The US stock market has been on a roll this year, with the S&P 500 index up by 17% and hovering around 6% below its record high from January 2022. The market’s performance in the coming weeks will depend on how confident investors are that the US economy will experience a soft landing..

A soft landing is a scenario where the economy slows down moderately without going into a recession . Morgan Stanley Research believes that the US economy can achieve a soft landing, given the current housing cycle, income and spending trends, a stable labor market, and receding inflation. However, banking-sector turmoil and a resulting credit squeeze still pose some recession risk.

The recent stock market rally has Wall Street re-examining the potential for the US economy to pull off a soft landing scenario. Goldman Sachs expects the economy to react positively to the Fed’s monetary policy in 2024.

It’s worth noting that the stock market is not always a reliable indicator of the economy’s health. Therefore, investors should be cautious and not celebrate too soon.



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