Retirees Face Uncertain Future

It is exceedingly hard to look even months out with a modicum of confidence as to coming trends and events. We are in the most uncertain of times.

This is especially true for those in retirement. Over the last decade, really beginning in 2008, retirees have had to break with conventional wisdom and invest a much larger proportion of their assets in the market than in the past and than wisdom would suggest; bonds and cash simply offered too little yield to meet their needs.

Now, with a new and unsteady president, the market seems even more risky for all Americans, and especially for those depending solely on unearned income. The country has certainly enjoyed a significant upswing following the election, but that seems more fueled by irrational exuberance than by a thoughtful weighing of the major risks ahead resulting from irrational and off-the-wall government leadership.

Logic suggests that the market, however strong in recent days, is due for a major fall as the impact of a seriously unstable president with a seriously flawed agenda clashes with reality. Those in retirement are caught in the middle. Stay in the market and enjoy a temporary surge or get out now before an almost certain and lasting drop takes place.

Market timing has never worked. While all looks good for the moment (interest rates are beginning to creep up and the market is doing well), logic and clear thinking dictate that retirees need to act now in their best interests, reduce significantly their market holdings, and move to the safety of government-insured bonds and bank or credit union savings accounts and CDs. To do anything else will leave a significantly large proportion of the population today in great jeopardy of falling short of the resources required to cover basic needs.

Explore FDIC-insured, high yielding savings accounts and CD accounts here.