Retirement Fun Facts and a Dose of Reality

Straight from the CBO – Congressional Budget Office - their recent annual report details the fiscal state of our country – and no surprise - things are far from good. Here are the main parts of the report from the CBO that are concerning to those that are in or nearing retirement:

Out of control spending
Mountains of debt
The interest on our debt
Social Security’s unsustainable path
Higher government expenses on healthcare
Structural problems in the federal budget
Healthcare in the federal budget

Here is a statistic that may cause you to pause and ponder, according to The Daily Signal, February 9, 2017 – “8 Snapshots of America’s Fiscal Outlook” – 80% of American’s have no money. So - when the government in the future needs to raise more money – who will they come to – the 20% of American’s that have money or the 80% that do not. If you’re a regular reader of this newsletter – I would suppose that you are part of the 20% that have some money – and therefore there is a target on your back.

What does this bad news mean for you? I would propose that planning for using products that offer sustainable payouts and competitive interest with some guarantees of principal is a prudent strategy. Income is the key in retirement. Debt is a killer in retirement because of the cash flow drain it takes to satisfy the monthly payments. I would argue that most folks would be able to adjust their standard of living to meet their income in retirement. Products like Life Settlements and Structured Settlements offer competitive returns that are backed by our nation’s largest and most highly rated insurance companies.

In closing – plan for reduction and destruction of debt prior to retirement. Utilizes products that will create a baseline of guaranteed income and supplement those holdings with traditional investing products. These traditional products historically will provide long term holders the best way to inflation proof their investments.