Inflation: “The Silent Pickpocket” Threatening Your RetiremenT

This News & Observer article warns that ignoring inflation when planning for retirement is a recipe for disappointment. With prices for essentials like food, energy, and even used cars rising each year—and savings accounts averaging a meager 0.62% interest, well below the current 2.9% inflation rate—any money left languishing in low-yield accounts is steadily losing value.

Highlighting my perspective, the article quotes: "Inflation is the silent pickpocket of our financial lives. If your savings are sitting in a zero-interest account while the price of everyday goods and services is climbing, you're quietly losing ground with every passing month." In other words, sitting still means falling behind.

The article explains that not all inflation pain is shared equally. Some states like California and New Jersey are being hit especially hard, and a weakening U.S. dollar plus new import tariffs are pushing prices even higher.

So what can you do? The piece lays out four proven strategies: consider “hard” assets like real estate or commodities; use Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) to insulate some of your portfolio; update your retirement projections each year to reflect inflation and potentially delay withdrawals; and don’t leave your cash idle—many online savings and money market accounts now pay over 4%, far outpacing old-school brick-and-mortar banks. As I emphasize for clients, fighting inflation isn’t about panicking, but about making sure your money always earns more than prices rise.

Bottom line:

Inflation may be inevitable, but how vulnerable you are is a matter of active planning. If your dollars aren’t keeping up, you’re losing ground—period. By taking a few proactive steps, you can stop the “silent pickpocket” from derailing your retirement plans.