As you plan for your golden years, you may be focusing on amassing a healthy nest egg to ensure a comfortable and worry-free retirement. However, one often-overlooked factor that can erode your hard-earned savings is inflation. Dubbed as the ‘silent killer’ of retirement plans, inflation can significantly impact your purchasing power, making it crucial to account for it when strategizing your financial future.

We’ve been fortunate to have enjoyed an extended period of time with low inflation so many people have forgotten just how much of a strain it can put on you financially if you aren’t prepared. If you’re in retirement or nearing that transition, it’s important to understand inflation, what it means for your money, and the steps you can take to offset its effects.

So what exactly is inflation? Generally speaking, it’s the rate at which the price of goods and services increases over time. We’ve seen those rates shoot up to 7-8% recently, but even in down years inflation still sits around 1-2%. It’s never completely gone even if it’s not noticeable, which is why it’s called the ‘silent killer.’

If you haven’t factored these cost increases into your retirement plan, you could discover some significant miscalculations down the road. Here are just a few ways inflation could threaten your retirement:

1. Reduced Purchasing Power: Inflation gradually chips away at the value of your money, reducing its purchasing power. Let’s say you’ve saved $500,000 for retirement. At a 3% inflation rate, that $500,000 will only be worth $250,000 in 24 years.

1. Increased Living Expenses: As the cost of living increases due to inflation, so do your everyday expenses. From housing and healthcare to food and transportation, higher prices can put a strain on your retirement budget, forcing you to dip into your savings more than anticipated.

2. Lower Investment Returns: Inflation can also affect the performance of your investments, as fixed-income assets such as bonds may not yield returns that keep pace with inflation. Additionally, while stocks have historically outperformed inflation, there is no guarantee this trend will continue in the future.

Proper planning can help mitigate the effects of inflation, which is why you have to factor it into your retirement plan even in the best years. The strategies could include investing in assets that perform well in high-inflation environments, proper diversification, adjusting the withdrawal rates in the distribution phase, or even delaying Social Security for a few years.

All of these things should be on the table when you work with your financial advisor so that your portfolio withstands the test of time. Understanding inflation and its impact will help you take the steps to protect your nest egg and secure a comfortable retirement. If you have any questions about how your portfolio would perform against inflation, reach out and let’s discuss it further.