Retirement Watch Weekly
Underestimating Safe Spending in Retirement and the 4% Rule
Many people are familiar with the 4% rule, or the safe spending rate. Research indicates you can withdraw the same inflation-adjusted amount from your nest egg for at least 30 years if you withdraw about 4.2% the first year. But a lot of assumptions go into that number. This article points out that one assumption […]
Rising Investor Confidence
A little more than a year ago on February 9, 2016, the global economy and markets hit an important turning point. You might remember that in early 2016, global markets other than for government bonds were in steep decline. Investors were convinced that we were on the cusp of a deflationary decline. China had a […]
Is Early Retirement Over?
The choices of older workers will have a lot of influence on U.S. growth in coming years. The population is aging, and that usually reduces growth. But last year there was a break in a long trend. Older Americans didn’t retire at the same rate as in recent years. Maybe it’s a blip. But maybe […]
Harvard Endowment’s Investment Problems
The Harvard University Endowment recently overhauled its investment practices. It intends to reduce its staff and rely more on outside investment advisors. But a major problem that university has had apparently isn’t with its endowment investments but with the way its cash is invested. This article explains that over the objections of several of its […]
A Critic of Smart Beta Investing
Smart beta is a form of stock investing that is sort of passive investing or modified index investing. It first is based on academic research showing that investing based on certain factors increases long-term returns above capitalization-weighted indexes. The definition is fluid, but generally investing in low volatility stocks, undervalued stocks, and other strategies are […]
The Retirement Crisis and Course Corrections
Many surveys and reports indicate that a high percentage of Baby Boomers aren’t financially prepared for retirement. This leads to discussions of how bad things will be for these future retirees. This survey has a different result. It found, as the others have, that a low percentage of Baby Boomers have their retirement finances in […]
The Cut in Social Security Benefits
The full retirement age for Social Security rose to 66 a few years ago. Going forward, it is going to increase steadily for new retirees. This article explains how an increase in the full retirement age is a benefit reduction for most retirees. It also provides some basic background on Social Security, such as how […]
The Rise in Investor Confidence
Since the Nov. 8 election, a surge of optimism has been reported in many surveys. We’ve seen it in the household surveys as well as the small business and manufacturing business surveys. I experienced that surge of optimism firsthand at the MoneyShow Orlando last week. The crowd seemed larger than last year. (Show sponsors reported […]
