The bucket is just a way to think about money but isn't anything special.

I mostly retired at 60. Probably going to get social security at 63 (wife) and 70 (me). I don't want to start my wife's this year since I want to do some Roth conversions.

What I did is that I have one bucket at Fidelity and that is largely in treasuries with maybe 25% stocks/ETFs. That is our money until I turn 70. My other bucket is at Schwab and is about 50/50 and won't use/need until 70. I actually have a 3rd bucket with some money from a government job and that is either emergency money or to be used for medical care in old age.

For fixed income I usually just buy individual treasures. Other people use bond funds, CDs, etc.

Make sure you account for state/federal taxes. I've always hated dealing with taxes and the bizarre regulations. I've screwed up my federal returns the first 2 years of retirement although got better last year. This year with help from Fidelity and Schwab I'm estimating interest/dividends for the year and using a spreadsheet to make my estimated taxes. Over at bogleheads.org they have a tax spreadsheet someone created and it might be useful.

Withdrawals need to be planned to even out the tax issues. If you spend down taxable accounts and not IRAs (tax deferred ones) you might get hit harder with taxes due to RMDs, social security and any pensions you have. It might also cause IRMAA issues.

Also if you might inherited any money from parents, etc. you need to be aware of tax issues with those as well since IRAs have to be withdrawn within 10 years.

Best to sit down and use a spreadsheet or pencil and paper and look at various scenarios.

Retirement Investing FAQ

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