Sleep well knowing your savings are protected.
Risk management in retirement isn't about avoiding risk entirely — it's about taking the right risks at the right time, and protecting against the ones that could derail your plan.
In retirement, the rules change. You can't afford a 40% portfolio drop when you're drawing income from your savings. Risk management isn't about avoiding the market — it's about structuring your portfolio so that a bad year doesn't become a bad retirement.
At Steinhandler Wealth Advisors, we build retirement portfolios with layers of protection — guaranteed income for essential expenses, growth assets for long-term purchasing power, and defensive positions to weather market storms.
How we handle risk management
We use a bucketing strategy that separates your money into time-based segments: short-term (1-3 years) in safe, liquid assets; medium-term (4-7 years) in moderate-risk income investments; and long-term (8+ years) in growth-oriented assets that can ride out volatility.
This approach means you never have to sell stocks in a down market to pay your bills. Your short-term bucket covers your income needs while your long-term bucket recovers.
Why families choose us
We've managed retirement portfolios through the dot-com crash, the 2008 financial crisis, and the COVID crash. Our clients' income plans held up through all of them because we build risk management into the foundation of every plan.
As fiduciaries, we don't earn more when you take more risk. Our advice is aligned with your comfort level and your plan's needs.
Common questions about risk management
How do I protect my retirement savings from a market crash?
The key is diversification and structure. We build portfolios with guaranteed income sources (annuities, Social Security) covering essential expenses, so you never have to sell investments at a loss. Your growth assets have time to recover because they're not funding your monthly bills.
What is the safest investment for retirees?
There's no single 'safest' investment — safety comes from the structure of your overall plan. Treasury bonds, CDs, and fixed annuities provide principal protection. But an all-safe portfolio can actually be risky over time because inflation erodes your purchasing power. We balance safety with growth.
How much risk should I take in retirement?
It depends on how much of your essential expenses are covered by guaranteed income (Social Security, pensions, annuities). If your basics are covered, your investment portfolio can afford to take more risk for growth. If not, we lean more conservative until those income floors are in place.
Risk Management across the Northern Suburbs
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