Finance

The secrets to a successful retirement? Planning, spending, and social connections.

Published

12 months ago

April 13, 2025

The secrets to a successful retirement? Planning, spending, and social connections.

Listen and subscribe to Decoding Retirement on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

How might you go about having a happy, successful, and wealthy retirement?

In her new book, “How to Retire,” Christine Benz, the director of personal finance and retirement at Morningstar, interviewed many of the nation’s top retirement experts and distilled their discussions into 20 lessons for doing just that.

In a recent Decoding Retirement podcast, Benz shared some of the top takeaways from those conversations. Lesson one, she said, is to visualize your retirement lifestyle and put habits in place to make it happen.

“The point is that we’re all wired a little bit differently in terms of what we want from our retirement cash flows,” Benz said. “A broader message of this book is there’s more than one way to do this. … You should give a little thought to what you specifically are looking for.”

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In one interview, Fritz Gilbert, the author of “The Keys to a Successful Retirement” and the Retirement Manifesto blog, emphasized the importance of taking thoughtful steps before retiring.

For her part, Benz said phasing into retirement, starting around age 50, is a best practice. And you don’t have to take concrete steps; you can just start thinking about which parts of your work you like and dislike.

“Starting early, I think, is such a valuable piece of advice from Fritz,” Benz said.

Consider making decisions about your work life in the years leading up to retirement, either in “stealth mode” or through candid discussions with your employer. Then, take additional steps, such as saving contact information and personal files from your work computer.

You might also consider “dabbling” in retirement activities before fully retiring, Benz said, as this can help ensure you’re “in the driver’s seat” as you move into the next phase of retirement.

Michael Finke, a professor at the American College of Financial Services, pointed out in his interview with Benz that retirement is not all about relaxation, leisure activities, and free time. After all, you need something to relax from.

“The best relaxation comes after you’ve actually accomplished something,” Benz said. “You need to figure out a way to have a sense that you are accomplishing something.”

His actionable advice: Find an “animating force” that provides a sense of purpose in retirement, such as volunteering, continued work in some capacity, or reengaging with family.

“The main point is that even when you step away from work, you need to look at where you will go for some of the balance and structure and purpose and identity that your work provided you with,” Benz said.

Read more: Retirement planning: A step-by-step guide

In her interview with Laura Carstensen, the director of the Stanford Center on Longevity, Benz learned that work is good for us in that it helps us maintain social connections.

“Social connections mean a lot to our life satisfaction,” said Benz.

Given that, you should preemptively think about where you will find day-to-day interactions after leaving work. “Make sure that you are replacing work friendships with friendships outside of work because those work friendships may not stand the test of time,” Benz said.

Two elderly men playing a board game in Aveiro, Portugal. (Photo by: Nano Calvo/VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) — Two elderly men playing a board game in Aveiro, Portugal. (Nano Calvo/VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) · VW Pics via Getty Images

Understand that social networks may shrink with age, partly due to loss and partly due to self-selection toward a closer “inner circle.”

“As we age, we tend to want to spend more time with the inner circle, that very tight network of people who totally get us where, when we walk away from being with them, we’re like walking on air because we feel so completely understood,” Benz said.

Benz also noted that men, in particular, should be proactive in maintaining and building social circles outside of work.

Carstensen’s point, Benz said, is that “it’s OK to have your network shrink a little bit as you age,” but “you don’t want that social network to get too small. You don’t want to be down to just, say, two or three people.”

In another interview, David Blanchett, the head of retirement research at PGIM DC Solutions, noted that retiree spending — even among high-income households — tends to trend down over time but then often flares up later due to uninsured long-term care costs.

This is often referred to as “the spending smile,” Benz said.

Given that dynamic, Blanchett “has always been a believer in people giving themselves a little bit of permission to spend more earlier on,” Benz added. But giving yourself permission to spend isn’t always easy.

“The problem is a real one,” Benz said, and it’s rarely addressed, since many retirees haven’t saved enough for retirement.

Read more: Here’s what to do with your retirement savings in a market sell-off

Benz noted that she often meets people who bring up this issue. They’ve seen themselves as savers throughout their working lives, and that identity has become second nature. Now, however, with their portfolios at high levels, the idea of drawing down those savings feels uncomfortable.

And many genuinely struggle with spending — often for good reason. Part of the challenge, Benz speculated, lies in the word “spending” itself, which many associate with excess.

“There is this association of spending with profligacy,” Benz said, when that’s often not the case at all. For instance, some retirees provide meaningful support to adult children or other loved ones, particularly while they’re still young and may need it most.

How one should allocate assets when entering retirement?

William Bernstein, co-founder of Efficient Frontier Advisors and author of “The Four Pillars of Investing,” endorsed a “safety-first” strategy in his interview with Benz. That approach focuses on securing reliable, inflation-protected cash flow to cover essential expenses.

The ideal way to achieve this is by building a laddered portfolio of Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS), a structure that helps retirees manage inflation risk while ensuring their basic income needs are met.

For Bernstein, addressing portfolio cash flows and securing inflation protection are “jobs one and two” in a sound retirement plan.

J.L. Collins, the author of “The Simple Path to Wealth,” offered another approach. Benz described his advice about keeping retirement portfolios as simple as possible, especially considering the potential cognitive decline in older age.

Collins recommended using a simple index fund-based portfolio with a bit of cash, focusing on core stock and bond market indexes, rather than overly complicated investments.

“[Collins] is very much on the side of trying to be as minimalist as you possibly can be when thinking about your retirement portfolio,” Benz said, “and there’s a lot to like about that idea.”

Each Tuesday, retirement expert and financial educator Robert Powell gives you the tools to plan for your future on Decoding Retirement. You can find more episodes on our video hub or watch on your preferred streaming service.

Related Topics:Christine Benz Retirement

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Finance

FTSE 100 LIVE: Stocks muted as Trump delays strikes on Iran power plants

Published

3 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

FTSE 100 LIVE: Stocks muted as Trump delays strikes on Iran power plants

The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) was hovering around the flatline on Friday, while European stocks headed lower, as traders shrugged off Donald Trump’s latest pause on striking Iran’s energy infrastructure.

On Thursday night, the US president extended the deadline for Iran to open the strait of Hormuz by 10 days, meaning the new date would be 6 April. He claimed that talks were “going very well”. However, Iran denied it was “begging to make a deal”, despite Trump’s earlier claims.

It comes after Wall Street posted its biggest daily loss since the Iran war began on Thursday.

The Wall Street Journal also reported on Thursday that the US was considering sending as many as 10,000 additional troops to the Middle East.

Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG, said Trump has extended the uncertainty gripping markets.

“While the rhetoric around de-escalation and dialogue is certainly preferable to outright conflict, the market appears to be growing increasingly numb to President Trump’s verbal reassurances. By extending the deadline, it effectively kicks the can down the road, pushing back any concrete resolution regarding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. This, in turn, simply extends the uncertainty weighing on markets and the broader global economy.”

Elsewhere, UK retail sales dipped by 0.4% in February, following a rise of 2.0% in January, the Office for National Statistics revealed. In the December to February quarter, sales volumes were up 0.7% compared with the previous three months.

London’s benchmark index (^FTSE) was hovering around the flatline in early trade
Germany’s DAX (^GDAXI) dipped 0.5% and the CAC (^FCHI) in Paris headed 0.2% into the red
The pan-European STOXX 600 (^STOXX) was down 0.3%
Wall Street is set for a muted start as S&P 500 futures (ES=F), Dow futures (YM=F) and Nasdaq futures (NQ=F) were all lacklustre.
The pound was 0.1% down against the US dollar (GBPUSD=X) at 1.3311

Follow along for live updates throughout the day:

LIVE 4 updates

Consumer confidence in Britain slips in March

GfK revealed on Friday that the UK confidence index fell two points to -21 in March – the weakest level since Donald Trump announced sweeping import tariffs in April last year. At the time, the index sank to -23.
Neil Bellamy, the firm’s consumer insights director, said the survey showed people are concerned about the prospects for inflation and the economy.
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The group said the sharp rise in energy prices caused by the effective closure of the strait of Hormuz and attacks on infrastructure in the region “has led to fears of higher inflation and weaker growth across oil-importing countries”.
A majority of respondents said the economy had improved modestly over the last year, but was about to decline significantly. They said they were likely to save more and spend less on big ticket items over the next 12 months as a result.
UK retail sales dip amid wet weather and weaker supermarket trading

UK retail sales decreased in February as supermarket sales slipped and demand for household goods was impacted by wet weather, according to official figures.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the total volume of retail sales, which measures the quantity bought, fell by 0.4% last month.
It compared with a 2% rise in January, which was revised up from a previous estimate of 1.8%.
The monthly decline in February was nevertheless shallower than expected, with analysts having predicted a drop of 0.7% for the month.
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A fall in supermarket sales partly contributed to the fresh monthly decline, falling by 0.6%.
All food stores, which includes convenience stores and specialist retailers, reported a 0.7% decline in sales volumes, marking the weakest level since August last year.
Elsewhere, the data showed that household goods stores saw weaker demand, dropping by 2.6%, with retailers partly blaming “wet weather” for reduced demand.
Met Office data indicated that the UK, had above average rainfall in February 2026, more so than in either January this year or the previous February.
Non-store retailers also reported a slight dip over the month, with retailers suggesting that consumers brought forward spending to January to make the most of post-Christmas discounts.
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Matt Dalton, consumer sector leader at Forvis Mazars, said:
Asia and US overnight

Stocks in Asia were mixed overnight, stuck in a wait and see mode, with the Nikkei (^N225) fell 0.4% on the day in Japan, while the Hang Seng (^HSI) rose 0.4% in Hong Kong.
The Shanghai Composite (000001.SS) was 0.6% up by the end of the session and in South Korea, the Kospi (^KS11) lost 0.4% on the day. Part of the Kospi’s weakness was also due to the ongoing sell-off in South Korean chipmaker stocks from Google’s memory chip announcement.
Across the pond, the S&P 500 (^GSPC) slipped 1.7%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq (^IXIC) was 2.4% down, both seeing their biggest declines since the start of the war and fell back to their lowest levels since September. The Dow Jones (^DJI) ended 1% lower, while the VIX index rose 2.11 points to 27.44pts, its highest since 6 March.
Part of the Wall Street selloff was also driven by the ongoing rout from Tuesday’s announcement that Google had found a new algorithm that could reduce the memory chip amount needed in AI models.
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Coming up

Good morning, and welcome back to our markets live blog. As usual we will be taking a deep dive into what’s moving markets and what’s happening across the global economy.
To the day ahead we’ll get the US March Kansas City Fed services activity, UK February retail sales. Central bank events include the ECB consumer expectations survey, and the Fed’s Daly and Paulson will speak.
Here’s a snapshot of what’s on the agenda today:

7am: UK retail sales for February

9am: ECB Consumer Inflation Expectations survey

2pm: University of Michigan consumer confidence report

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Finance

NDSU College of Business launches Center for Banking and Finance

Published

16 hours ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

FARGO, N.D. – North Dakota State University’s College of Business has launched the Center for Banking and Finance, a new academic and industry‑engaged hub designed to prepare students for careers in banking and finance while supporting the evolving workforce needs of the region’s financial industry, a release states.

Announced during a press conference at NDSU’s Louise Auditorium at Barry Hall, the center brings together students, faculty and industry partners to expand experiential learning opportunities, strengthen connections to employers, and address emerging trends shaping the financial services industry. The center is housed within NDSU’s College of Business and builds on growing student interest in finance‑related programs.

“The Center for Banking and Finance reflects NDSU’s responsibility as a student‑focused, land‑grant, research university to respond to workforce and economic needs across our state and region,” said Interim President Rick Berg. “By connecting education, industry, and community, this center helps ensure our graduates are prepared to contribute on day one and throughout their careers.”

The center will support undergraduate and graduate students through hands‑on learning experiences, exposure to financial tools and technologies, and direct engagement with financial institutions, regulators and business leaders. It will also serve professionals already working in banking and finance through workshops, training and research‑informed programming aligned with business needs, according to the release.

“The Center for Banking and Finance is about momentum — students who are eager to learn, faculty who are pushing applied scholarship forward, and industry partners who want to shape the future workforce,” said Kathryn Birkeland, Ronald and Kaye Olson dean of the NDSU College of Business. “When education and industry move together, everyone benefits.”

The launch of the Center for Banking and Finance coincides with a series of regional events focused on finance, fintech and economic outlook, including programming with the Bank of North Dakota, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and regional business leaders. Together, these events underscore the Fargo‑Moorhead area’s role as a hub for financial dialogue, talent development and economic collaboration.

The center’s foundational banking partners include Dacotah Bank, Gate City Bank, Bell Bank and Western State Bank, who attended the launch and are helping shape early student experiences and industry-informed programming.

The center is led by Mark Jensen, a career banker and longtime adjunct instructor who joined NDSU full-time in 2026 as director of the Center for Banking and Finance.

“The Center for Banking and Finance is designed as a bridge,” Jensen said. “It brings industry into the learning experience in meaningful ways, and it gives students clearer pathways into a wide range of banking and finance careers.”

For students, the center represents a more direct bridge between academic study and professional opportunity.

“As a finance student, experiences outside the classroom make a real difference,” said Tavian Nelson, a senior at NDSU majoring in finance. “Going into college, I knew I wanted to be involved in the finance program but was unsure of what that would look like once I graduated. The school has truly shaped my desired career outcomes with many hands-on experiences, professional leaders, and connections throughout my time here. This center will truly strengthen these experiences for students.”

Initially, the center will focus on experiential learning opportunities, business partnerships and workforce‑aligned programming, with plans to expand offerings as partnerships and resources grow. The center is supported through external funding and business engagement.

Finance

Iran war could trigger financial systemic stress, ECB vice president warns

Published

1 day ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

Iran war could trigger financial systemic stress, ECB vice president warns

FRANKFURT, March 26 (Reuters) – Euro zone banks have limited direct exposure to the war in the Middle East, but the conflict ‌could still generate systemic stress given interconnected vulnerabilities, European Central ‌Bank Vice President Luis de Guindos said on Thursday.

Financial markets have come under stress in recent weeks from the impact of the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran, but the selloff outside the Middle East has been limited, even as some assets remain overvalued.

“Spillovers to the euro area financial sector have ‌so far remained contained,” ⁠de Guindos said in a speech. “Direct bank exposures to the region are limited, and the banking system is well ⁠positioned with strong profitability and robust capital and liquidity buffers.”

De Guindos argued that even market infrastructure operators, like central counterparties whose services include energy markets, have managed margin requirements effectively, despite the volatility.

Still, there was a broader risk, ‌given interconnections in the financial system, said de Guindos, whose roles at the ECB include monitoring financial stability.

“Amid already elevated global uncertainty, this conflict could trigger the unravelling of interconnected vulnerabilities and cause systemic stress,” he said.

The conflict threatens to derail market sentiment at a time when ‌asset valuations are high, potentially leading to a sharp repricing of risk for leveraged borrowers and sovereigns while amplifying stress in the non-bank financial sector, he said.

On the ‌ECB’s core mandate of ensuring low inflation, de Guindos repeated the bank’s warning that inflation could rise and growth slow on the conflict but argued more time was needed to understand the full impact.

“We are ‌unwavering in our commitment to ensuring that inflation stabilises at our 2% target in the medium term,” he said.

(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Toby Chopra)