Joseph Bert, being a certified financial planner, has done a lot of interviews in the last few days about President Trump’s new tariffs affecting the stock market. Among all of them, he’s had to share similar warnings about handling retirement savings at times like this, when the stock market is down.
“This is all about tariffs, and the market doesn’t like uncertainty, which is what’s happening right now,” said Bert, chairman of Certified Financial Group in Altamonte Springs, “What you don’t want to do is you don’t want to make emotional decisions, you don’t want to bail out on your plan.”
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Those like Rachel Lawrence, who says her entire family’s retirement is invested into the stock market, is trying to listen especially closely to those warnings.
“It feels like our future is at risk and our retirement is definitely at risk,” Lawrence said.
Pete Tinnesz says he’s been retired for decades and is worried too, just not to the point of panic.
“It’s scary as hell,” said Tinnesz, “but it’s going to go back up again, it’s inevitable.”
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Bert says this exact same point is good to keep in mind, that this slump in the stock market is temporary. For those wondering whether to bet on the stock market, he told Action News Jax it may be a good time to ante up.
“It’s not about what happens in the next day, the next week, even the next year. If you’re not investing, particularly in your 401(k), this is a great opportunity,” Bert said.
Since everyone is in a different position in life when it comes to either saving for retirement or nearing the point of retiring, Action News Jax asked Bert what people can keep in mind at different stages of life. Here’s what he told us:
- For younger investors: focus on what he calls “dollar cost averaging,” or continuing to invest money into retirement at the same pace, despite how the stock market is.
- For those still 10 or more years from retirement: avoid making emergency payments on a credit card. Make sure you either have cash set aside or are working to set cash aside in case of times like this, enough to live on for at least a year or longer
- For those nearing retirement: have money on the side, especially in cash, or money in bonds that can be sold for cash. Don’t make any rash decisions with your money before seeing a financial advisor or professional
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Regardless of your age and stage, he recommends everyone have enough cash to weather the next storm on the stock market.
“Investing is having a plan, knowing what you need to do and letting your money work for you,” said Bert, “know how much cash you’re going to need and have that money set aside, and everything else, make sure you’ve got growing for yourself.”
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