Too many people get retirement advice from professional idiots.

"This calls for retirees to withdraw 4% of their nest eggs each year, which would theoretically last through a 30-year retirement period."

The people who use this method have to hope they drop dead in time. What a terrible idea. It's better to never touch the principal. I'm recently retired and I plan to always have enough dividend income to live and also to buy more shares, giving myself a raise every 3 months. I do not fear living too long. And I could care less if the price of my shares goes up or down because I will never sell anything the rest of my life. The stock market can crash. I don't care.

Lots of comments about what to buy at these two links:

http://seekingalpha.com/article/3092106-replace-the-4-percent-retirement-rule-with-these-4-percent-dividend-stocks

http://seekingalpha.com/insight/dividend-investing