These days, many seniors are feeling the strain of inflation. So are everyday consumers, for that matter. But whereas workers still receive paychecks from their employers, many seniors are stuck with fixed, limited incomes that make it harder to keep up with rising living costs.
If you're worried that inflation will lead to a miserable retirement for you, fear not. With the right strategy, you can set yourself up to maintain your buying power even as inflation rears its ugly head. Here's how.
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1. Beef up your IRA or 401(k) contributions
Social Security is designed to protect seniors from inflation. But it often does a poor job of doing that, namely because its annual cost-of-living adjustments commonly fail to account for the rising living costs seniors specifically face. As such, it's important to have other income streams to tap, and that's why boosting your IRA or 401(k) plan contributions during your working years is essential.
The more savings you bring with you into retirement, the less reliant you will be on Social Security. Plus, you'll have the option to keep your IRA or 401(k) invested during retirement so that it continues to generate growth.
2. Invest in dividend-paying stocks
Investments that pay you on a regular basis can serve as a great source of supplemental income -- and give you more buying power during periods when living costs are on the rise. Dividend stocks are a great fit in that regard. During your working years, you can reinvest your dividends as they come in to grow your wealth even more. And during retirement, you can collect those dividends and use them as cash as needed.
If you're interested in building a portfolio of dividend-paying companies, it especially makes sense to look at REITs, or real estate investment trusts. REITs must pay at least 90% of their taxable income to shareholders in dividend form, which often leaves them paying higher dividends than your average company.
3. Buy and hold an income property
Homes tend to gain value steadily over time. If you invest in an income property during your working years, you can use your rental income to offset your ownership costs, such as mortgage payments, maintenance, repairs, and property taxes. And then, come retirement, you'll have two choices. You can either hold onto that property and continue to collect income or sell it at what will hopefully be a nice profit.
Either way, having an asset like a house could serve as a huge source of protection against inflation. And if you buy a home in the right market, you may end up very pleased with the degree to which its value appreciates.
Inflation is a serious concern for seniors -- but it doesn't have to be for you. If you take the right approach to investing and retirement planning, you can set yourself up to land in a position where your bills aren't a burden -- and you're not perpetually strapped for cash.
