Guardrails in Voyant - CA

1. Guardrails as Retirement Withdrawal Strategies

Definition: Guardrail withdrawal strategies are a way of managing client income in retirement. Spending is adjusted up or down depending on how investments perform, keeping the client “on track” without requiring constant recalculation.

Example:

• If the portfolio grows significantly, the client’s withdrawals may be increased (raise the income “ceiling”).

• If the portfolio declines beyond a certain point, withdrawals may be reduced (protecting the plan from depletion).

In Practice:

• This approach reassures clients by showing a safety system that keeps their retirement plan sustainable.

2. Guardrails in Voyant

While Voyant doesn’t currently have a “guardrail withdrawal” button or module, you can model similar strategies by:

• Creating Spending Rules: Adjust income goals based on market performance using manual scenarios

  Tip: Many advisers create two or more scenarios or "What If Plans" (e.g., “Base plan,” “Above Average Market Performance or Increased Spending,” “Below Average Market Performance or Decreased Spending”) and show clients how adjusting spending in response to markets can extend a plan's longevity.

  

• Running Stress Tests: Model market downturns, Loss Capacity, Monte Carlo's to see how much spending flexibility is needed.

Monte Carlo Insight

Loss Capacity Insight

Tip 1: Use the Retirement Spending Insight to Set Guardrails
Run the Retirement Spending Insight in each plan to show clients their maximum sustainable spending capacity. Use this figure as a ceiling for lifestyle spending in any given year. A simple way to frame it with clients:

“We’ll keep your annual lifestyle spending at or below this sustainable figure. If markets do well, we may increase spending. If markets underperform, we’ll step it down.”

This gives clients a clear rule of thumb while reinforcing that flexibility is the key to long-term sustainability.

Tip 2: Focus on Assets Under Advice
By default, the Retirement Spending Insight factors in all liquid assets and income sources. If you want to isolate the sustainable drawdown rate from only the accounts you advise on, create a What If scenario and:

• Include only the accounts under advice

• Remove other income and liquid assets

Then, run the Retirement Spending Insight in that What If plan. This shows the maximum sustainable spending from those accounts given the growth assumptions (without stress testing). For example: “$20,000 a year from a retirement account.”

From there:

• Keep the same expense goal in the plan to test feasibility.

• Use the Investment Returns Insight to measure sensitivity to market performance.

• Use the Retirement Spending Insight again to see the wiggle room in spending (noting it shows an annual average and doesn’t reflect one-off expenses).

This approach gives you an “upper guardrail” for spending specifically from assets under your management.”

3. Present the story (Let’s See)

1. Go to Let’s See and use Cash Flow, Assets, and Net Worth to show the differences between plans.

2. Reference the Retirement Spending results live: “Here’s your max sustainable spending in each scenario and how that translates to your annual budget.”

3. Toggle between plans (or use your plan comparison tool if available) to visualize how adjusting spending extends longevity.

4.  Set review cadence & checkpoints

1. At each review, rerun:

   • Retirement Spending, Monte Carlo, and Loss Capacity in the Base Plan with the most up-to-date information in the plan. 

2. If a trigger is hit, switch to the appropriate what-if plan and update the client’s spending target accordingly.

3. Make a note of the decision in Plan Notes for an audit trail.

Other videos you might find helpful

Presenting Advice Using Monte Carlo Simulations

Adjusting Growth Rates in Retirement