Common factors affecting retirement income
From: Key Private Bank
When it comes to planning for your retirement income, it’s easy to overlook some of the common factors that
can affect how much you’ll have available to spend. If you don’t consider how your retirement income can be
impacted by investment risk, infl ation risk, catastrophic illness or long-term care, and taxes, you may not be able to enjoy the retirement you envision.
Investment risk
Different types of investments carry with them different risks. Sound retirement income planning involves understanding these risks and how they can infl uence your available income in retirement.
Investment or market risk is the risk that fl uctuations in the securities market may result in the reduction and/ or depletion of the value of your retirement savings. If you need to withdraw from your investments to supplement your retirement income, two important factors in determining how long your investments will last are the amount of the withdrawals you take and the growth and/or earnings your investments experience. You might base the anticipated rate of return of your investments on the presumption that market fl uctuations will average out over time, and estimate how long your savings will last based on an anticipated, average rate of return.
Unfortunately, the market doesn’t always generate positive returns. Sometimes there are periods lasting for a few years or longer when the market provides negative returns. During these periods, constant withdrawals from your savings combined with prolonged negative market returns can result in the depletion of your savings far sooner than planned.
Reinvestment risk is the risk that proceeds available for reinvestment might have to be reinvested at an interest rate that’s lower than the rate of the instrument that generated the proceeds. This could mean that you have to reinvest at a lower rate of return, or take on additional risk to achieve the same level of return. This type of risk is often associated with fi xed-interest savings instruments such as bonds or bank certifi cates of deposit. When the instrument matures, comparable instruments may not be paying the same return or a better return as the matured investment.
Interest rate risk occurs when interest rates rise and the prices of some existing investments drop. For example, during periods of rising interest rates, newer bond issues will likely yield higher coupon rates than older bonds issued during periods of lower interest rates, thus decreasing the market value of the older bonds. You also might see the market value of some stocks and mutual funds drop due to interest rate hikes, because some investors will shift their money from these stocks and mutual funds to lower-risk fi xed investments paying higher interest rates compared to prior years.
