RETIREMENT CORNER
It's been a while since inflation was a big part of American life. It has been so low recently that Social Security payments were not increased in 3 of the last 6 years, and the Federal Reserve has even raised the possibility of negative interest rates.
Yet inflation has not disappeared, and for retirees, even low inflation can have an outsized effect on their finances...
The end of April marked the end of two key strategies used by married couples to maximize Social Security benefits. For those born after April 30, 1950 (File-and-Suspend grandfather status) or January 2, 1954 (Restricted Application grandfather status), the options for making the most of your combined benefits have become fewer. In spite of this, married couples could still benefit from thinking strategically when it comes to claiming benefits....
Retirement investors can expect their investments will generate smaller returns over the next 20 years compared with what they had received in the past three decades, according to a study by the McKinsey Global Institute. The decline in future returns could be attributed to sluggish economy, inflation, corporate profit pressures, and potentially rising interest rates, the study says....
I’m a firm believer in how our ability to recognize and understand the biases that motivate us goes a long way in helping to modify, or stop, potentially bad behavior. This is especially interesting to me when it comes to behaviors associated with our personal finances. A recent article posted by Bloomberg highlighted 2 that are extremely detrimental to the health of your retirement savings: Present Bias and Exponential-Growth Bias. The former puts your present wants above your potential future needs; the latter is a failure to realize how a dollar today grows over time....
