KSHB 41 reporter Abby Dodge covers consumer issues, personal budgeting and everyday spending. Share your story idea with Abby.
Retirement might be far off for many clocking in Monday morning, but some people in the workforce are weary.
“I haven’t looked at [my 401k] yet, it makes me nervous,” Kalyn Ahrens said. “Hopefully it will be well.”
Long-term investors like Ali Kashinf have seen sudden dips before during President Trump’s last time in office. He remained hopeful for a recovery.
But for those eyeing retirement, the market isn’t giving them much confidence.
"I’d like to still be young enough. I don’t want to retire in my 70’s,” James Gomez said. “I don’t want to keep losing money.”
Williams Financial Planning founder and wealth advisor Stacia Williams said for those close to 65, there are some actions you can take in a down market.
- Reevaluate your budget and don’t forget to factor in future inflation.
- Evaluate your risk, you want to lower your risk the closer you are to retirement.
- Diversify your assets.
“The older we get, the less risk we should take because we don’t have time to earn those monies back,” Williams said. “So, is the answer still to make a knee-jerk reaction and pull away from the market? It absolutely is not. I do believe in diversification.”
Williams said it's a good time for investors to try tactics like Roth conversions.
Investors can roll over money in a pre-tax retirement account into a Roth IRA. This allows investors to avoid taxes on distributions during retirement.
“One of the things I tell clients is when we are in a down market, this is opportunity time,” she said.
Susie Bernardi and her friends were out on the Plaza Monday morning. They group said they are inching closer to retirement.
“We’ve lost a lot right now. But it’s temporary,” she said. “Wall Street is skittish right now and I think it’s temporary pain.”
Bernardi is confident her savings are safe and commended the tariffs Trump put in place last week.
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