Retirement: Optimal equity exposure to mitigate longevity risk

This Monday's link is a study on stock allocations in retirement and risk of running out of funds before you die (longevity risk). It is one of the main risks to manage.  According to Putnam, your equity exposure should be no more than 25% which is more conservative than most studies I've seen.

Marketwatch writeup of the report.  Key snippet, "In an interview, Harlow noted that once a retiree starts taking money from their retirement accounts, the withdrawals become “path dependent.” And if the success of a retirement income plan rests on whether the markets go up or down, one has to figure out how to protect oneself against that volatility, and especially against the risk of unfavorable “sequence of returns.” And the best way to do that is by reducing one’s overall exposure to equity to no more than 25%, he said."

Actual report is here (putnam website)