Where should retirees hold their emergency cash?

Retirees benefit from a "cash bucket" of one to two years of living expenses held in safe, liquid places — high-yield savings, money market funds, short-term CDs, or a T-bill ladder. This buffer lets you cover spending from cash during market downturns instead of selling investments at a loss, which protects your portfolio from sequence-of-returns risk early in retirement. Keep the very-near-term portion (the next several months) in instant-access savings, and stagger the rest in maturities that come due over the next year or two. Because retirees draw on this money regularly, the priority is stability and access over yield. Replenish the bucket from portfolio gains or income in good market years. Build your spending-and-cash plan around your withdrawals using wealthserene.com/tools/retirement-planner.