Life insurance and annuities offer long-term security in upheaval, plus ways to fight inflation.
Americans trying to get ahead can be forgiven for feeling unsettled during the end of 2021 and beginning of 2022: •
Final inflation numbers for 2021 came in at 7%, followed by a 7.9% inflation reading for February, the highest in 40 years.
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Stock markets slid, including a 1,000-point drop by the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Jan. 24. Markets fell more than 10% from their peak early in 2022.
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February’s survey of consumer confidence fell to its lowest level in more than 10 years.
Add to those the Russia-Ukraine crisis, fuel prices, the lingering COVID pandemic and
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\ Spring 2022 \ Forum Magazine
interest rate increases by the U.S. Federal Reserve. Growth may seem far from certain. At the same time, the temptation to withdraw one’s money and try hanging onto it carries its own set of risks, taxes, and penalties. Rising inflation, discussed in more detail on Page 17, erodes purchasing power. Wage earners and Social Security recipients saw their gains off set by inflation. Worse, any retirees who relied mostly on bank savings, long-term low-interest CDs, or other fixed income saw cash assets lose 7% of their purchasing power in 2021. These concerns may be even greater for women, who traditionally have had lower lifetime earnings and less access to retirement savings accounts such
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