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Approximately 70 million retired Americans collect Social Security benefits. Of those retirees, 8 million also collect Supplemental Security Income (SSI). But Social Security is more than retirement income. It also provides life insurance and survivor benefits.

It’s believed that retirement planning as we currently know it didn’t really exist until a few decades ago. Up to that point, people worked until 65 and then sailed into retirement on a pension plan.

There was a time when old retirement planning models like “the 70 percent rule” were more common. This rule stated that a retiree only needed 70% of their pre-retirement income to live comfortably in retirement. These “rules” may have worked for some retirees several decades ago but can be dangerously flawed in today’s new normal retirement.

With current market instability, inflation, and rising interest rates, more people are becoming acutely aware of the risks of investing. Financial markets are commonly known for their up-and-down nature, also known as market risk. Some people go into the market with higher expectations than others, but those expectations often come with an equal amount of risk.

If you’re a beginning investor, it’s likely you’re concentrating on building your portfolio.  But as important as it is to build that portfolio, you should also ensure that it’s diversified.

Why is a diversified portfolio so important?

There are three key reasons why diversifying is important:

Earning an income comes with taxes, and your investment incomes are no different. As your portfolio grows into retirement, it’s important to consider the difference between retirement pre-tax income and retirement after-tax income. A savvy advisor will consider your future tax liabilities to be an integral part of your overall retirement strategy.

When it comes to managing your personal finances, paying someone else to decide where to put your money may feel counter-intuitive. After all, who knows and understands your financial needs and goals better than you? Well, the truth is that a financial professional is far better suited to the task.

Paying fees for professional investment management is something we’d all like to avoid. Why pay for some guy in a suit to manage your investments when you can do-it-yourself with a simple online brokerage account? There are many reasons to trust a professional - read on to find out whether it’s worth it to go with the pros.

Active vs. Passive

Created as a result of the Great Depression, The Social Security Act was signed into law by President Roosevelt in 1935; mainly due to the rise in poverty of the nation’s elderly population. The act was designed to provide retired workers ages 65 and older with a continuing income after retirement.

Investing in the stock market can be extremely rewarding, but not without risk. While most investors understand that market volatility is a given in the stock market, for those trying to decide whether to invest in stocks, the volatility alone gives them pause. A lot of people are too risk averse to be comfortable investing in the stock market.