
You need a strategy that earns return on an investment
Return on investment refers to the difference between the rate of return received from an investment portfolio and the rate of inflation. For example, if interest is 2% but inflation is 7%, the investor sustained a negative 5% return.
The good news is, since 1926 the S&P 500 has had an average annual return of 10.49%3 while U.S. inflation has averaged 3.25% annually.4 However, life rarely reflects averages and past performance cannot predict future results.
Considering that the average length of retirement is about 20 years, you should account for inflation in your retirement planning strategy, even if you are close to or already in retirement.