It is no surprise that inflation has affected everyone over the past couple of years. The Covid-19 pandemic caused a spike in unemployment rates and business closings while introducing a new way of living in the digital age. While the lasting economic effects may take some time to determine, the cost of living has certainly risen significantly in recent months.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) which is not adjusted seasonally is displayed below:
Economists note the peak of the CPI-U was June 2021 to June 2022, making it the largest annual index increase since November 1980 to November 1981. Consumers were reevaluating their retirement saving habits.
The U.S News & World report surveyed 2,000 adults regarding their retirement plans. All participants had been saving for retirement for more than 5 years, with 39% having saved for 6-10 years and 61% having saved for over 10 years.
Despite this longevity in savings, 41% stopped putting money into their retirement funds in 2022 due to inflation. 32% were actually forced to withdrawal some of their retirement savings to keep up with inflationary costs.
When asked about the future, respondents had a divided outlook.
The perception seems to be inflation prompts an immediate recession. Though it may seem that way, inflation has been tracked since 1914. When you have invested as long as I have, you start to see patterns in the return of money over time.
If inflation has taught us anything, it is how to work with LESS to gain more later. In my book, Investing Ahead, I mention "you can only spend a dollar once". Inflation magnifies this concept as our dollar has less purchasing power.
The U.S News & World Report survey states that while 72% of the 2,000 respondents had reevaluated their retirement plans since the outbreak of Covid-19, only 27% had reassessed their strategies and goals. I am forced to ask myself, "How many of the respondents have a financial advisor?"
Many employers do not adequately explain their company retirement plans, leaving employees on their own or reliant on a company appointed third party resource to do the heavy lifting. At Curran Wealth Management, our Private Wealth Managers and Investment Committee members make themselves available to help our customers with all their financial needs through all economic conditions.
We very much appreciate your loyalty and trust and will continue to do all we can to earn both.
Sincerely,
Thomas J. Curran, Founder & Co-Chief Executive Officer
Curran Wealth Management
At Curran we value service over sales and believe quality service yields happy clients. Below is our 4-step process (the first three steps at no cost to you).
A short introductory call for us to get to know one other. During this call we will discuss your financial goals, concerns and hopes for the future.
In this meeting we will go over your current financial situation, take a deeper look at your goals, discuss your risk tolerances, and collect the data necessary to build a formal proposal.
Based on our data gathering session, our Private Wealth Managers will present you with a custom proposal tailored to your needs. We encourage individuals to take the time to evaluate this proposal.
If you are comfortable with the proposal and choose to invest with Curran, our team will be there every step of the way assisting in opening the recommended accounts and facilitating all necessary parts of your onboarding process.
