The TIPS You May Need – Treasure Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) – Part 1
In discussing retirement liabilities, it is also important to address the issue of inflation and how to think about bonds when they are meant to fund a liability that grows with the consumer price index. Fortunately, this is now practical as the United States began issuing Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) in 1997. Backed by the […]
How Do Interest Rates Affect Bond Prices? Understanding Bond Duration
Most investors recognize that there is a relationship between interest rates and bond prices. At their most simple level, bonds are simply loans that the issuing organization takes from investors. And because of this, changes in interest rates have a significant impact on bond prices. However, the way that interest rates affect bond prices is […]
Two Philosophies for Retirement Income Planning Part Two: Safety-First School
This article is part of a series; click here to read Part 1. The safety-first school of thought was originally derived from academic models of how people allocate their resources over a lifetime to maximize lifetime satisfaction. Academics have studied these models since the 1920s to figure out how rational people make optimal decisions. In […]
Two Philosophies for Retirement Income Planning Part One: Probability-Based
Within the world of retirement income planning, the siloed nature of financial services between investments and insurance leads to two opposing philosophies about how to build a retirement plan. There is an old saying that if the only tool you have is a hammer, then everything starts to look like a nail. This tendency is […]
Changing Risks in Retirement, Part Three: Spending, Inflation, and Cognitive Decline
This article is part of a series; click here to read Part 1. Spending shocks Unexpected expenses in retirement come in many forms, including: unforeseen need to help family members divorce changes in tax laws or other public policy changing housing needs home repairs rising health care and prescription costs long-term care Retirees must preserve […]
Changing Risks In Retirement Pt. Two – Unknown Longevity
This article is part of a series; click here to read Part 1. The fundamental risk for retirement is unknown longevity, which is summarized in the question, how long will your retirement plan need to generate income? It is the risk of running out of assets before running out of time. The length of retirement […]
Changing Risks in Retirement
It is important to understand from the very outset how changing risks are primarily what separate retirement income planning from traditional wealth management. Retirees have less capacity for risk, as they become more vulnerable to a reduced standard of living when risks manifest. Those entering retirement are crossing the threshold into an entirely foreign way […]
The Retirement Researcher Manifesto – Part Two
This article is part of a series; click here to read part One. Let’s continue to review the last 3 guidelines in the manifesto for my approach to retirement income planning. Approach retirement income tools with an agnostic view The financial services profession is generally divided between two camps: those focusing on investment solutions and […]
The Retirement Researcher Manifesto – Part One
As I have attempted to summarize the key messages and themes that have underscored my writing and research, I find that the following eight guidelines serve as a manifesto for my approach to retirement income planning. It is helpful to start with these guidelines because I will ultimately talk about how to implement these guidelines […]
Overview Of Retirement Income Planning – Part Two
This article is a part of a series; click here to read Part One. With investment solutions, a more comfortable lifestyle may be maintained for those willing to invest aggressively in the hope of subsequently earning higher market returns to support a higher income rate. Should decent market returns materialize and sufficiently outpace inflation, investment […]
