Gold is down significantly from the beginning of the year. Many people who are the so-called gold bugs have lost significant amounts of money as a result. Stocks are up a great deal. They are also volatile with quite wide swings. This volatility can unnerve many investors who depend on their savings for their retirement income. It might be time to make mid-year tweaks to your retirement plan. Monitor your retirement savings and make cautious adjustments to ensure that your plan is not jeopardized over the long term. Work with an adviser to ensure that you do not sell low and buy high. If you can live on income and not touch your principle, you will be sheltered from any of these wild swings.

Tweaks to Your Retirement Plan

Interest rates edging up over the past few months for loans and mortgages. Many people who did not lock in a mortgage interest rate before the rise are now wondering if they should put off buying a home. An increase of 1% can add hundreds of dollars a month depending on the size of the mortgage. Recently interest rates have settled down. Governments in North America are suggesting that they will remain low for the next year and a half.

The economy is slowly improving and for those people who have a job, life is tolerable. But if you do not have a job or if you are just making enough to pay the bills, retirement savings are something that you dream about vs. actually having. Let’s hope the slow economic improvement continues. It is better than drastic increases which can go down equally as fast providing for a lot of turmoil in people’s lives. Although frustrating for many people, a long slow improvement is actually better for everyone than a fast trip up and then down over the cliff.

Storm Clouds Brewing

Nevertheless, there are lots of storm clouds churning away. Europe is still unstable but making progress. China is slowing its growth forecast and even in the US, the slow economic improvement is a worry for many people. There have not been any major storms this year that affected the economy or the oil industry. But there have been a lot of smaller storms that have hurt people really badly, however not on the scale of some of the bigger hurricanes.

There is always something going on and with all that is currently taking place, it is time to review your retirement plan. You may need to make mid-year tweaks to your retirement plan if necessary based on a thorough balanced review. Tweak only if necessary to balance your retirement plan, reduce risk, increase income and make cash available when you need it. Check with your financial adviser to confirm you have a well-balanced retirement plan. Invest for the longer term and avoid reacting to short-term stimuli from outside sources on the stock market.