The 60/40 rule is a simple approach that helps S corporation owners determine a reasonable salary for themselves. Using this formula, they divide their business income into two parts, with 60% designated as salary and 40% paid as shareholder distributions.
The 60/40 strategy evolved out of American economist Harry Markowitz's groundbreaking 1950s work on modern portfolio theory, which holds that investors should diversify their holdings with a mix of high-risk, high-return assets and low-risk, low-return assets based on their individual circumstances.
The 60/40 rule arises from common wisdom, which dictates that an investment portfolio should be balanced, especially as we approach retirement. Stocks can deliver returns of about 10% a year, a much higher rate than an investor is likely to reap in an ordinary bank account.
The 60/40 budget keeps things simple by focusing on the big picture. The rule splits income into two broad buckets: committed spending and savings/special occasions. You can customize the budget if a 60% commitment isn't realistic for you.
First, calculate your monthly take-home pay, then multiply it by 0.70 to get the amount you can spend on living expenses and discretionary purchases, such as entertainment and travel. Next, multiply your monthly income by 0.20 to get your savings allotment and 0.10 to get your debt repayment.
Bottom line. The 60/40 portfolio invests 60% in stocks and 40% in bonds. This approach provides investors with the growth potential of stocks with the added stability and income of bonds. Therefore, investors can achieve reasonable returns while keeping risk under control.
Make a list of all your combined expenses: housing, taxes, insurance, utilities. Then talk salary. If you make $60,000 and your partner makes $40,000, then you should pay 60 percent of that total toward the shared expenses and your partner 40 percent.
With $1 million in a 401(k) and no mortgage on a $500,000 home, retirement at 60 may, in fact, be possible. However, retiring before eligibility for Social Security and Medicare mean relying more on savings. So deciding to retire at 60 calls for careful planning around healthcare, taxes and more.
“You put 60% of your money into stocks (think growth and energy) and the remaining 40% into bonds (the steady, reliable part of your investment meal). This mix has existed for ages, giving you both worlds: growth potential from stocks and some peace of mind with bonds.”
Fast forward to September 2024: The global 60/40 is back in positive territory, with a 29.7% cumulative return since year-end 2022. Even accounting for 2022, the 10-year trailing annualized return of the 60/40 was 6.9% over the past decade, 10 basis points above its long-term average.
For a 60/40 split, the rate of commission would be 0.6 for the person receiving 60% of the commission and 0.4 for the person receiving 40% of the commission.
For the 30-year period, the portfolio returned 8.11% (5.46% adjusted for inflation); a 9.61% return for the 10-year period; and 17.79% for the one-year time frame. The concept of the 60/40 portfolio is attributed to Nobel Prize winners Harry Markowitz and William Sharpe, who developed the Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT).
Once a mainstay of savvy investors, the 60/40 balanced portfolio no longer appears to be keeping up with today's market environment. Instead of allocating 60% broadly to stocks and 40% to bonds, many professionals now advocate for different weights and diversifying into even greater asset classes.
Under this strategy, the owner would pay themself 60% of earnings as a salary and the other 40% as distributions. [1] That percent split is applied regardless of the company's earnings, which makes it easy and often advised by accountants and other sources, but also problematic.
Pay Mix Primer
In other words, 60/40 means 60% of TTC is the base salary, and 40% of TTC is the target incentive. For example, if a job has a TTC of $100,000 with a 60/40 pay mix, the base salary would be $60,000 (60% x $100,000). The target incentive would be $40,000 (40% x $100,000). (See Figure 1.)
Just 16% of retirees say they have more than $1 million saved, including all personal savings and assets, according to the recent CNBC Your Money retirement survey conducted with SurveyMonkey. In fact, among those currently saving for retirement, 57% say the amount they're hoping to save is less than $1 million.
How much does a $1 million annuity pay per month? As of January 2025, with a $1,000,000 annuity, you'll get an immediate payment of $6,000 monthly starting at age 60, $6,608 monthly at age 65, or $7,125 monthly at age 70.
Retiring with $500,000 could sustain you for about 30 years if you follow the 4% withdrawal rule, which allows you to use approximately $20,000 per year. However, retiring at a younger age will likely reduce the amount you receive from Social Security benefits.
60% stocks/40% bonds gives you about half the volatility you're going to get from the stock market but tends to give you really good returns over the long term. Over the last 20 years, it's been a great portfolio for investors to stick with.
Those will become part of your budget. The 50-30-20 rule recommends putting 50% of your money toward needs, 30% toward wants, and 20% toward savings. The savings category also includes money you will need to realize your future goals.
The standard salary to commission ratio is 60:40 with 60% being the base rate and 40% being commission-driven. The plan best serves as an incentive or motivation for increased sales performance. Example: A salesperson earns $500 a month in salary with 10% commission, or $500, for $5,000 worth in sales.
A 60/40 child custody schedule has the child spend 60 percent of their time with one parent and 40 percent of their time with the other parent. The two most common 60/40 schedules are the every extended weekend schedule and the 4-3 schedule.
60/40 split-folding seats, a staple feature in most Volkswagen models, gives drivers the freedom to customize their cargo space based on their needs. Fold the entire rear bench, 60% (two seats) or 40% (one seat) based on your requirements.
Don't buy into the gloom: The death of 60/40 has been greatly exaggerated, and we believe bonds can still serve a dual role as income-generators and risk-diminishers. The 60% stock and 40% bond portfolio has become the default setting for many people nearing retirement.