Unlocking what “unavailable” rate of return means for you

You have a dream of what retirement will look like. Will you travel regularly on expensive European cruises? Will you be there cheering your grandchildren on at every soccer game and baseball practice? Will you visit friends you haven’t seen in years because you both have been too busy working 9 to 5?

Whatever your dream is, chances are it includes you being successful and your finances secure. The last thing you want is for your retirement to go up in smoke with risky investments. You may even dream of owning no one anything: having a paid-off home, car, boat, etc. 

Overall median retirement savings was $6,450.00 per household in 2020, according to the Federal Reserve SCF. The highest median and average age group that saved money for retirement were people ages 55 - 59 who saved a median of median $15,000.00 and $223,493.56 average of retirement savings. But, most other age groups socketed away a significant amount of retirement savings too. Take a look at the data below.

Every client we help at Staggs Financial Services has a dream of what retirement looks like. Some of them even have a Pinterest board, dream map, or goals written down. However, getting there can be challenging.

You may not always have time to read your investment statements. We all lead full, busy lives. Many of us, professionally and personally, are achieving success regularly. But, if there is one thing for you to look for on your Traditional or Roth IRA statements, it is this: look at the rate of return. Your rate of return should tell you on the Account Summary page how your investment portfolio is performing. Is it performing better than average? Under average? What specific percentage is there? This is true regardless if you get your statements monthly, quarterly, or yearly. Below is an example of an actual statement (with all sensitive information blocked out) from an investment company to show you what could be a red flag on how your retirement is performing:

If your Account Summary looks like this, it may be time for you to sit down with a Licensed Financial Advisor. It can be disconcerting to realize you don’t know how well your retirement savings is performing. Almost half of Americans worry they won’t have enough money to see them through retirement, according to a 2019 survey by the Aegon Center for Longevity. Let’s talk today and make sure you’re not among them.