Is Your Retirement Money Safe from the Stock Market? What You Need to Know

Do you actually know where your retirement money is invested right now — and what would happen to it if the stock market dropped 35% tomorrow?

For most Americans, the honest answer is: not really.

THE REALITY

If your retirement savings are in a 401(k), traditional IRA, 403(b), or pension fund that invests in mutual funds or stocks, your money is directly exposed to market volatility. When the market goes up, your balance goes up. When it goes down, so does your balance.

This is fine when you are young and have decades to recover. But as you approach retirement, the math changes. A major drop in your final working years can permanently reduce your retirement income in ways that recovery alone cannot fix.

A REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE

In 2008-2009, the S&P 500 lost approximately 50% of its value. Someone who had $400,000 saved watched it drop to roughly $200,000. For a 62-year-old planning to retire at 65, that is potentially catastrophic.

WHAT 'PROTECTED' ACTUALLY MEANS

True protection means your principal is guaranteed by contract. The only products that offer this are insurance-based: fixed annuities and indexed annuities. With an indexed annuity, your money is tied to a market index for growth, but it is not in the market. When the index drops, your balance does not.

Harbor Point Financial offers free 30-minute retirement reviews for families in New

Mexico, Texas, North Carolina, Illinois, and Indiana. Book yours today.