On the Money: Threats to Your Retirement

(1:47) Tariffs and the Impact on the Economy

(13:10) Investing During a Wild Card Presidency

(24:47) The Biggest Threats to Your Retirement

Inflation

“I think the trap people fall into is they look at an all fixed income portfolio and see that it meets their income need today, but if their income needs double or triple over the next twenty or thirty years (due to inflation), it may not meet their needs at that point.”

David Ruedi, CFP®, RICP®

Bad Timing/Market Declines

“In the event of a bad market, you may want bonds in your portfolio that can fund your essential lifestyle needs: food, housing, transportation, etc. for 3-5 years.”

Ryan Repko, CFP®

“The sequence of returns risk has a bigger impact than your actual investment returns themselves. The question is: how are we going to deal with it in a sensible fashion? That 10 year period around your retirement date requires being extra careful with your asset allocation.”

Paul A. Ruedi

“It is helpful to have a process in place for adjusting your portfolio withdrawals in response to bad markets. If you get hit with a mad market on the front end of retirement, you don’t just spend the exact same amount you spent the year prior, you may cut it a bit.”

David Ruedi, CFP®, RICP®

Poor Long-Term Returns

“We can’t assume average returns are going to show up – over long periods of time we will see periods that are above average, below average, and anywhere in between. So we have to essentially “sandbag” it and start out early in retirement by holding back on your max or ideal spending so you can weather bad returns should they show up.”

Ryan Repko, CFP®

Bad Investor Behavior

“The unfortunate reality is that one mistake can totally derail your retirement. It can be something you never recover from. A perfect example is if you were a retiree in 2008 and you sold in February 2009 near the market bottom, and missed out on the recovery – if you spend even a somewhat similar amount to what you started at, you’re going to run out of money.”

David Ruedi, CFP®, RICP®

“Make sure you find a financial advisor you get a very good feeling about on the front end of retirement, because you are probably going to be relying on that person for financial decisions as time goes on.”

Paul A. Ruedi