Last weekend the finance minister Scott Bessent went to television and said that the people who wanted to retire did not pay attention to the stock exchange.
In the NBC program “Meet the Press” and refers to those who have “led away in their savings account for years”, he said the following: “I think they don't look at the daily fluctuations of the event.”
Is that true? I asked the readers of their money newsletters who were about to retire whether they were watching the markets and if so, why?
About 400 people answered. More than 90 percent of them stated that they would have been looking for. They gave me an ear.
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“I have the Parkinson's disease and cannot work in any way. Of course I watch exactly how the market develops every day.”
– Nancy London, Plain City, Ohio
“I don't care about normal market fluctuations, but what's going on is anything but normal. So, yes, I'm looking for.” – Edward M. Kenny, Brooklyn, NY
“You have no idea how ordinary people live.” – Barbara Costanzo, Milwaukee
“Of course I watch. I am disappointed that he and President Trump treat my hard -earned savings so cavaliers.” – Cleo Larue, League City, Texas
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The word “Cavalier” was the adjective that appeared most in e -mails from readers, and the feeling of Ms. Costanzo – that people in the Trump administration were not widespread.
President Trump is not the first person to lead someone like Mr. Bessent – a former hedge fund manager who is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. When Bill Clinton was president, he was responsible for Robert E. Rubin, a former Goldman Sachs banker.
But if you work like this, it is to have some empathy – or at least sympathy – for the fights of others.
“Secretary Besser is highly employed in financial competence and encourages all Americans to invest in the long term,” said a spokesman for the Ministry of Finance. In the past, he spoke to started working at the age of 9 when his father fell into difficult times.
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“We definitely look at the fluctuations and probably add time for our timeline” need “. Mr. Bessent is wrong.” – Becky O'Hara, Havertown, Pa.
“I wanted to retire and still wait until 70 to collect social security, and that is a sensitive balance if the value of my investments has dropped considerably.” – Karen Walrath, Beaverton, Ore.
“If I am now retiring at the age of the federal work and enters the labor market at the age of 59¼ years, I have to pursue a very, very different finance approach. How the market currently behaves, potentially catastrophic effects can have an impact.” – Sue Zwicker, Greenbelt, Md.
“On most days I take a few moments to check the markets, mainly out of curiosity, but also to see if I have to balance again.” – Jeff Schmierer, Brookfield, Conn.
“I only retired 18 months ago, and the sequence risk is by far the financial problem that I am most concerned about.” – Dennis Scholl, Miami Beach
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So about this thing with the “sequence risk”: It means that when you retire when you retire when the markets fall, you may sell assets if your overall portfolio drops. And if this remaining amount falls (both from the market decline and the sale of assets to pay daily expenses as soon as you do not work), you can benefit less money that could benefit from any market recovery. All of this increases the chances that the money will run out before you die.
It is a big thing – big enough that someone who heads the finance department would probably think about it if they suggest that the youngest pensioners do not carefully observe their “savings accounts” what readers mean as pension accounts.
“Besser should be a clever guy, so I doubt that he believes what he says,” writes Douglas Frazier by Savannah, GA.
If you have to come in public and defend a IPO that your boss – the president who likes to fire people – is indeed difficult to believe everything you may be forced to say.
However, this does not excuse that questions that many people have to take into account in the weakening of retirement – and how difficult it is to answer them when people have retired “savings” accounts that contain shares.
Mr. Bessent is right that at least some people don't look every day – it was below 10 percent of my 400 correspondents.
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“Why look and make me sick? We have an investment plan. I will stick to it and work for a while. I like my job. If I looked like it. If I have work. Let me do something positive.” – Teresa Meinders Burkett, Tulsa, Okla.
“We don't check daily fluctuations. It is too frustrating and scary, and at this point we can't do anything about it.” – Mindy Evanter, Marblehead, trade fair.
“I do not look at my portfolio every day, but I definitely monitor the market and like most of the other over 60 about the market reaction to the Trump tariffs. The comments from secretary improved may have made historical sense, but if the administration took measures that affect the global economy and lead to great uncertainty, investors are taken care of.” – Patrick Grum, Atlanta
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In a perfect world they did everything right while preparing for retirement.
They had good jobs when they wanted them and luck with their health on their way. You saved more than what you have to pay for a 30-year retirement. You have several years of money that you have stowed away from a safe man, while you waited a considerable stock exchange market descent. They have the strength not to panic in panic and in panic crop in investments in the wrong time.
But most people are not so lucky or tend to worry that their luck will go out directly if they want to stop working. At the moment, some of these people have at least managed to maintain their senses of humor.
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“Yes, I check. It is currently a compulsive behavior, although I haven't been looking for today. Why, I don't know. Please no tariffs on Xanax.” – Those TEAGUE, Austin, Texas
“Fluctuations look like this: wwwwwww.
I don't pay much attention.
What happens now is not a fluctuation.
It looks like this:
I pay attention. ” – Lynne Carmichael, San Anselmo, California.