Living with low interest rates

Our daily roundup of retirement news your clients may be thinking about.

Living with low interest rates
Despite the tax reform and other changes that the Trump administration is pursuing, interest rates are very likely to remain low, and this will have a negative effect on retirees depending on CDs and bonds, as well as other older workers who are adjusting their portfolios in preparation for retirement, writes an economist on the Washington Times. "Granted, the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates. It has penciled in a 0.25 percent increase for its benchmark commercial bank overnight borrowing rate and three similar adjustments each year until those are 'normalized,'" writes the expert. "However, when the Fed last tightened credit conditions from 2004 to 2006, the benchmark rate peaked at 5.25 percent. This time Fed policymakers are aiming for about 3% by the end of 2019."

federal-reserve-building-bloomberg-iag-2016
A pedestrian walks past the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve building in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015. Economists and traders expect the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee to raise interest rates tomorrow for the first time since 2006, marking the beginning of the end for the unprecedented era of easy monetary policy. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

These skills keep your career thriving, even as you near retirement age
A Harris Poll commissioned by the University of Phoenix has found that 40% of participants aged 55 and 64 intend to take on another job instead of retiring, with 19% of participants in the 65-older age group saying the same thing, according to this article on MarketWatch. Older workers who want to remain in the workforce should enhance their professional skills and acquire new ones, especially technical skills. “If you have tech skills, there’s no way around that — that’s the top skill in any field,” says a jobs expert.

4 ways to map out your retirement journey
Clients are advised to develop an income plan to ensure they are on track in achieving their retirement goals, according to this article from Kiplinger. To do this, they should identify their wants and needs and determine their income sources, such as Social Security and rental properties, after they retire. They should go next to crafting a dependable income that accounts for taxes and inflation, and to freeing some money that they invest in high-growth investments for additional income.

76% of Americans don't do one thing that can boost your retirement savings
Only 24% of people polled by Charles Schwab said that they put their retirement goals into writing, which can make a big difference in improving their prospects, according to this article on personal finance website Motley Fool. When writing down their retirement goals, clients should decide on their financial priorities and create an appropriate budget. They should also consider automating their savings plan, opening a multiple savings account for every goal they have.

To retire early, focus on just one thing
Clients need to save aggressively, reduce spending, and invest wisely to secure retirement, and focusing on getting extreme results on just one of these areas can shorten accumulation phase and will enable them to retire early, according to this article on Nasdaq. For example, clients with an annual income of $100,000 would end up with $246,000 more in retirement funds after 15 years if they save 10% of their earnings and incur an average annual return of 6%. They would end retire with double the amount if they increase their savings rate to 20% because of the power of compounded growth.

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Interest rates Career planning Social Security Retirement readiness Federal Reserve
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