Excerpt: Helpful advice is everywhere, but retirees and preretirees may wonder if we are creating a numerical Tower of Babel. Wall Street Journal Getting Going columnist Jonathan Clements in a January 17, 2007, article entitled 'How to Survive Retirement -- Even if You're Short on Savings,' noted varying solutions to the withdrawal enigma. One approach is 'to limit the yearly portfolio withdrawal rate to 3% or 4%, equal to $3,000 or $4,000 for every $100,000 saved.' (At this point you may want to have a shot of scotch or a crying towel handy for the less-than-mega-wealthy client who stares slack-jawed and mumbles, 'That $3,000 ... is that per month or per year?')

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