Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • Videos
  • Submit an article
  • More
    • About JOR
    • Editorial Board
    • Published Ahead of Print (PAP)
  • IPR Logo
  • About Us
  • Journals
  • Publish
  • Advertise
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • More
    • Awards
    • Article Licensing
    • Academic Use
  • Follow IIJ on LinkedIn
  • Follow IIJ on Twitter

User menu

  • Sample our Content
  • Request a Demo
  • Log in

Search

  • ADVANCED SEARCH: Discover more content by journal, author or time frame
The Journal of Retirement
  • IPR Logo
  • About Us
  • Journals
  • Publish
  • Advertise
  • Videos
  • Webinars
  • More
    • Awards
    • Article Licensing
    • Academic Use
  • Sample our Content
  • Request a Demo
  • Log in
The Journal of Retirement

The Journal of Retirement

ADVANCED SEARCH: Discover more content by journal, author or time frame

  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Past Issues
  • Videos
  • Submit an article
  • More
    • About JOR
    • Editorial Board
    • Published Ahead of Print (PAP)
  • Follow IIJ on LinkedIn
  • Follow IIJ on Twitter
Article

The Halloween Candy Problem: An Intuitive Model for the Drawdown Phase of the Life Cycle

John A. Turner
The Journal of Retirement Spring 2019, jor.2019.1.050; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3905/jor.2019.1.050
John A. Turner
is director of the Pension Policy Center in Washington DC
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF (Subscribers Only)
Loading

Click to login and read the full article.

Don’t have access? Click here to request a demo 

Alternatively, Call a member of the team to discuss membership options
US and Overseas: +1 646-931-9045
UK: 0207 139 1600

Abstract

The Halloween candy problem is faced by millions of American households each October 31, as they choose a strategy for giving out Halloween candy—it’s the trade-off between not wanting to run out of candy versus having too much candy left over at the end of the evening. This paper argues that this problem has similarities to the more complex problem retirees face of managing the spend-down of retirement assets, where the trade-off is essentially the same. The Halloween candy problem may be an intuitively appealing story to tell to retirees to explain the basic principle of how to manage the spend down of their assets. Further, understanding how people manage the Halloween candy problem may provide insights for how people might solve the more complex asset spend-down problem. The commonly suggested 4% rule is at odds with commonly used approaches for solving the Halloween candy problem, with the Halloween candy approach being more pragmatic, dynamic, and intuitively appealing.

TOPICS: Legal/regulatory/public policy, retirement

  • © 2019 Pageant Media Ltd
View Full Text

Don’t have access? Click here to request a demo

Alternatively, Call a member of the team to discuss membership options

US and Overseas: +1 646-931-9045

UK: 0207 139 1600

Log in using your username and password

Forgot your user name or password?
Next
Back to top

Explore our content to discover more relevant research

  • By topic
  • Across journals
  • From the experts
  • Monthly highlights
  • Special collections

In this issue

The Journal of Retirement: 8 (3)
The Journal of Retirement
Vol. 8, Issue 3
Winter 2021
  • Table of Contents
  • Index by author
  • Complete Issue (PDF)
Print
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on The Journal of Retirement.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
The Halloween Candy Problem: An Intuitive Model for the Drawdown Phase of the Life Cycle
(Your Name) has sent you a message from The Journal of Retirement
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the The Journal of Retirement web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
The Halloween Candy Problem: An Intuitive Model for the Drawdown Phase of the Life Cycle
John A. Turner
The Journal of Retirement Apr 2019, jor.2019.1.050; DOI: 10.3905/jor.2019.1.050

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Save To My Folders
Share
The Halloween Candy Problem: An Intuitive Model for the Drawdown Phase of the Life Cycle
John A. Turner
The Journal of Retirement Apr 2019, jor.2019.1.050; DOI: 10.3905/jor.2019.1.050
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo LinkedIn logo Mendeley logo
Tweet Widget Facebook Like LinkedIn logo

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • LITERATURE REVIEW
    • CONCLUSIONS
    • REFERENCES
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF (Subscribers Only)
  • PDF (Subscribers Only)

Similar Articles

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

  • Editor’s Letter
  • BOOK REVIEW: Is There a Retirement Crisis? An Exploration of the Current Debate
  • Editor’s Letter
Show more Article
LONDON
One London Wall, London, EC2Y 5EA
United Kingdom
+44 207 139 1600
 
NEW YORK
41 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010
USA
+1 646 931 9045
pm-research@pageantmedia.com
 

Stay Connected

  • Follow IIJ on LinkedIn
  • Follow IIJ on Twitter

MORE FROM PMR

  • Home
  • Awards
  • Investment Guides
  • Videos
  • About PMR

INFORMATION FOR

  • Academics
  • Agents
  • Authors
  • Content Usage Terms

GET INVOLVED

  • Advertise
  • Publish
  • Article Licensing
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe Now
  • Log In
  • Update your profile
  • Give us your feedback

© 2021 Pageant Media Ltd | All Rights Reserved | ISSN: 2326-6899 | E-ISSN: 2326-6902

  • Site Map
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Cookies
  • Privacy Policy