What Does Inflation Mean for Your Retirement Savings?

You may have earmarked your retirement savings not just for your own purposes after you exit the workforce or downgrade your current work role, but also to support your loved ones in estate planning. One of the biggest challenges for retirement savings is inflation.

Rising prices can erode the value of the money you’ve set aside no matter how much you’ve set aside over the course of your working years. This is especially important to consider in 2023 when the consumer price index hit 6.4%, one of the highest since the early 1980s. Prices for goods and services are affecting many people already in retirement and this leads many looking ahead to the future wondering how inflation will influence their retirement savings too.

In fact, 40% of workers in the United States have already postponed their retirement due to the increasing cost of living. Here are some tips to keep in mind to continue setting aside savings:

Not every investment decreases in times when prices are rising. Some actually perform better.
Bonds may be a good opportunity to explore with your financial professional.
Spend less and save more. Can you make any adjustments to your current expenses to set aside more money in savings? Withdrawing money at a conservative rate during retirement is one other option to pursue.
Discuss potential health care costs with your estate planning attorney or long-term care insurance agent. You may be able to prepare yourself to better adjust to some of the most expensive costs in retirement in this way.

If you’re concerned about inflation influencing your future, talk to a knowledgeable lawyer about your options with estate planning in NH.