investing in retirement
My spouse and I have 650,000.00 all in mutual funds. can you advise us before the inevitable crash how we can invest to secure no lost of principle but make some profit to keep up with inflation. We are in Vanguard because of low service fees .We wont need this money for monthly living. Between my husband pension and both social security and a rental we will have plenty to live on. THANK YOU in advance. Husband is 66 and I’m 65 and planning to work too 66, then get half the amount of my husband s.s. when I turn 66 and let my s.s. grow another year before taking it.
Terry Says
Well, your first issue is figuring out whether you really have “enough” to take both of you through 30 years of retirement! Remember, at just 3% annual inflation, the value of your money will be cut in half in 25 years. And if you invest in something risk-free like Treasury bills, you’ll just barely keep up with inflation — and maybe fall behind because costs for seniors tend to outstrip the general level of inflation.
Expensive things can happen unexpectedly in retirement. If either of you needs long term care (think Alzheimer”s or Parkinsons or stroke), it will cost upwards of $100,000 a year, leaving little in the way of assets for a surviving spouse.
There is an art to figuring all this out. And that’s why I recommend a Certified Financial Planner who is a FIDUCIARY (putting your interests first ) and charges only fees — no commissions. You can find one by searching at www.Wealthramp.com.
But if you just want a “ballpark estimate” of whether you have “enough” go to http://www.choosetosave.org/ — the website of the non-pprofit Employee Benefit Research Institute. Click on the “Ballpark Estimate” tool and put in your numbers. You’ll see where you stand.
Vanguard is a great, low-cost place to invest. And they will also do some “monte carlo” modeling for you — to illustrate whether your investments and withdrawals will give you a good chance that your money will last your lifetime!
