I think it depends on the age at which you start a pension and the minimum withdrawal percentages. Between my spouse and I we have a minimum withdrawal of 4.5% and have roughly equivalent balances. So our withdrawals each year are largely covered by dividends and franking credits. This doesn't quite cover it but our portfolio always has a few stocks that are taken over during the year and if it's getting close to the end of the financial year, I'll leave some of that in cash, rather than reinvest it all. I withdraw the required pension for the year in one fell swoop early in July and then reinvest any remaining cash. We also keep 2-3 years of pension requirements in fixed deposits, rolling these over when they lapse, in case of a complete market collapse. So for us, 10% in fixed cash, the rest in equities but during the year, as I said, cash builds up to the 4.5% to provide for the next year's drawdown. I would say that most financial planners would consider this to be too high risk and they're probably correct, but we're happy.
