Finance
Retirement and investing under Trump 2.0: Financial advisors say 'don't panic'
- Older Americans are facing retirement uncertainty due to market dips and Trump policy changes.
- Financial advisors urge against drastic investment changes, despite recession fears.
- Diversifying income sources and delaying taking Social Security can help stabilize retirement plans.
With dips in the stock market, planned staff cuts to the Social Security Administration, and rapidly changing economic policy, nearly a dozen older Americans told Business Insider they aren’t sure how to navigate retirement under Trump 2.0 — so we asked financial advisors.
It turns out that they have also been fielding an uptick in queries about how this political moment will impact clients’ finances.
Some retirees are tempted to make drastic changes to their investments, while others feel anxious about how their Social Security benefits may fare. This comes as the White House makes sweeping cuts to the federal workforce, the Department of Government Efficiency slashes budgets for government programs, and Wall Street braces for a potential recession.
The biggest advice for older Americans right now from financial advisors: don’t panic. The news cycle since President Donald Trump’s inauguration has moved quickly, and most advisors caution older adults against making any major changes to their retirement or savings accounts. Advisors told BI that building emergency funds and cutting back on spending are smarter ways to approach economic uncertainty.
“While it’s difficult not to react when stocks are falling, this has often been the best course of action, or you risk locking in potential losses and missing out on any market recoveries,” said Rita Assaf, vice president of retirement offerings at Fidelity Investment. “If you are saving for retirement, continue to stick to your plan. If you haven’t created a plan, you should.”
Here are the three top tips on retirement planning in the current economic climate from financial advisors, economists, and wealth managers.
Avoid drastic investment decisions
The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq have fallen recently, sparking nervousness among older Americans who have invested their retirement savings. A potential recession could also impact the value of some retirees’ assets, like homes.
“Putting the possibility of a recession into perspective can be hard to do,” said John Canally, chief portfolio strategist at TIAA, Wealth Management. “Emotion is a big part of investing, for better or worse, and investors often see short-term volatility as extremely disruptive.”
However, Gordon Whittaker, a Merrill wealth management advisor, told BI there is nothing about this period in the market that is different from other times of elevated volatility. If Americans have a smart retirement portfolio with adequate risk allocations, he said they shouldn’t make any major money changes.
Financial advisors told BI that it’s better to wait and see before making any immediate changes to 401(k) or Roth IRA strategies. Additionally, don’t make any changes now in an effort to “get ahead of the economy,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate. He added that investors can miss out on gains more than avoiding losses when they try to outguess the market.
Market conditions will likely change again soon, and Canally said it is important to “stay anchored” to long-term wealth and savings goals.
Older Americans who have invested in the market should ensure their stock portfolio is diverse, said Christopher Scibilia, a private client advisor at J.P. Morgan Wealth Management. People should invest in various stock options, ideally in stable industries without much risk. Scibilia added that retirees should also plan to withdraw their investments when the market is higher to avoid losses.
Evaluate your budget and pay down debt
Regardless of age, economists and financial advisors told BI it is a good time for Americans to reevaluate their spending.
The job market could slow down, and the price of everyday items could tick up due to tariffs and market volatility, especially if there is a recession. This is a good time to examine household budgets and see what can be trimmed or cut if income changes, McBride said. He added that people should prioritize paying down debt, building emergency funds, and focusing on liquid cash savings.
Scibilia said older Americans, especially, should have cash on hand in case of unexpected expenses, like a medical diagnosis. He said building an emergency fund alongside a traditional retirement account should be a top consideration for Americans who are retired or are looking to retire soon.
Don’t count on Social Security alone to pay your bills
BI previously heard from older Americans who are either unable to retire or must return to work after retirement due to financial constraints. Many said that Social Security isn’t enough to afford essentials, and millions of retirees don’t have adequate savings.
The Social Security fund is unlikely to be immediately affected by any of Trump’s planned policies, though Trump has suggested cutting some government healthcare coverage and resources for Social Security beneficiaries.
Financial advisors and economists told BI that having multiple income streams can help protect people from market volatility or any changes in government benefits.
Assaf and Scibilia said that older Americans should consider waiting to collect Social Security. Delaying their claim until age 70 could increase people’s benefits by 8%, which could be especially helpful for Americans worried about the Social Security fund dwindling in the 2030s, they said.
“Having multiple income sources, like Social Security, pensions, or part-time work, can also provide stability,” Scibilia said.
Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, also told BI that people with emergency funds, investment portfolios, and updated skills in their industry recover fastest from job losses. Scibilia added that pursuing part-time work and increasing health insurance coverage can help retirees weather unexpected expenses.
Do you have a story to tell about retirement plans and how you’re navigating finances under Trump 2.0? Reach out to these reporters at allisonkelly@businessinsider.com and nsheidlower@businessinsider.com
Banks have had a stellar first quarter. The major U.S. banks raked in nearly $50 billion in profits in the first three months of the year, The Guardian reported.
That was largely due to Wall Street bank traders, who profited from a volatile stock exchange, Reuters showed.
But even without the extra bump from stock trading, banks are doing well when it comes to interest, the same Reuters article found. And some banks could stand to benefit even more from this one potential rule change.
Morgan Stanley thinks it could have a major impact on Citi in particular.
Upcoming changes for banks
To understand why Morgan Stanley thinks things are going to change at Citi, you need to understand some recent bank rule changes.
Banks make money by lending out money, which usually comes from depositors. But people need access to their money and the right to withdraw whenever they want.
So, banks keep a percentage of all money deposited to make sure they can cover what the average person needs.
But what happens if there is a major demand for withdrawals, as we saw during the financial crisis of 2008?
That’s where capital requirements come in. After the financial crisis, major banks like Citi were required by law to hold a higher percentage of money in order to avoid major bank failures.
For years, banks had to put aside billions of dollars. Money that couldn’t be lent out or even returned to shareholders.
Now, that’s all about to change.
Capital change requirements for major banks
Banks that are considered globally systemically important banking organizations (G-SIBs) have a higher capital buffer than community banks as they usually engage in banking activity that is far more complicated than your average market loan.
The list depends on the size of the bank and its underlying activity, according to the Federal Reserve.
Current global systemically important banks
A proposal from U.S. federal banking regulators could drastically reduce the amount that these large banks have to hold in reserve.
Changes would result in the largest U.S. banks holding an average 4.8% less. While that might seem like a small percentage number, for banks of this size, it equates to billions of dollars, according to a Federal Reserve memo.
The proposed changes were a long time coming, Robert Sarama, a financial services leader at PwC, told TheStreet.
“It’s a bit of a recognition that perhaps the pendulum swung a little too far in the higher capital requirement following the financial crisis, making it harder for banks to participate in some markets,” he said.
Natasha Luscri and Luke Miller consider themselves among the lucky ones. The couple recently bought their first home in the northwest suburbs of Melbourne.
It wasn’t something they necessarily expected to be able to do, but some good fortune with an investment in silver bullion and making use of government schemes meant “the stars aligned” to get into the market. Luke used the federal government’s super saver scheme to help build a deposit, and the couple then jumped on the 5 per cent deposit scheme, which they say made all the difference.
“We only started looking because of the government deposit scheme. Basically, we didn’t really think it was possible that we could buy something,” Natasha told Yahoo Finance.
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Last month they settled on their two bedroom unit, which the pair were able to purchase in an off-market sale – something that is becoming increasingly common in the market at the moment.
Rather perfectly, they got it for about $20-30,000 below market rate, Natasha estimated, which meant they were under the $600,000 limit to avoid paying stamp duty under Victoria’s suite of support measures for first home buyers.
“They wanted to sell it quickly. They had no other offers. So we got it for less than what it would have gone for if it had been on market,” Natasha said.
“We didn’t have a lot of cash sitting in an account … I think we just got lucky and made some smart investment decisions which helped.”
It’s a far cry from when the couple couldn’t find a home due to the rental crisis when they were previously living in Adelaide and had to turn to sub-standard options.
“We’ve managed to go from living in a caravan because we were living in Adelaide and we couldn’t find a rental with our dogs … So we’ve gone from living in a caravan, being kind of tertiary homeless essentially because we couldn’t get a rental, to now having been able to purchase our first home,” Natasha explained.
Rate rises beginning to bite for new homeowners
Natasha, 34, and Luke, 45, are among more than 300,000 Australians who have used the 5 per cent deposit scheme to get into the housing market with a much smaller than usual deposit, according to data from Housing Australia at the end of March. However that’s dating back to 2020 when the program first launched, before it was rebranded and significantly expanded in October last year to scrap income or placement caps, along with allowing for higher property price caps.
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