How Much Cash Should You Hold in Retirement? (2026 Update)

How much cash should you have set aside as you enter the early years of retirement so you can weather market downturns without constant worry? In this episode of Retirement Answers, Jacob Duke explains Rivertree’s bucket strategy: keep two years of portfolio-withdrawal needs in cash (money market) and three years in short-duration fixed income to create a five-year runway, while avoiding being overly conservative and losing purchasing power to inflation. He also walks through how to take withdrawals in practice—generally pulling from what has gone up the most or down the least—and how to proactively replenish cash and bond buckets after strong market periods or following a decline.

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✅ Get your Important Numbers 2026 PDF here: https://www.rivertreewealth.com/2026-important-numbers

Email: jacob@rivertreewealth.com

Website: https://www.rivertreewealth.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobduke

Jacob Duke, CFP, MBA is the founder of Rivertree Wealth and the host of the Retirement Answers podcast.

DISCLAIMER: This should not be taken as tax, legal, or investment advice. All content is for educational purposes only.

00:00 Big Question

00:47 Why Cash Matters

01:35 Bucket One

03:33 Bucket Two