Safe Money

Protecting your retirement savings from market risk, inflation, and sequence-of-returns danger.

Series I savings bonds adjust for inflation every six months, cannot lose principal value, and offer favorable federal tax treatment — here is everything retirees need to know about how they work, what they cost, where to buy them, and how they are taxed.

All Safe Money Articles6 more

Safe Money

Fixed Indexed Annuity Sales Hit Record in 2024: What the Surge Tells Us

Fixed indexed annuity sales reached $126.9 billion in 2024, part of a broader record year for annuities—and the numbers reveal something real about how retirees are thinking about risk.

January 28, 2025

Safe Money

What "Safe Money" Actually Means in Retirement

Understanding the difference between principal protection, fixed indexed annuities, CDs, and bonds — and why sequence of returns risk changes everything after you stop working.

January 15, 2025

Safe Money

Annuity Types Explained: A Plain-English Guide to How Each Works

Annuities are among the most misunderstood products in the retirement landscape. This guide explains the major types, what each is designed to do, how surrender periods work, and how annuities interact with required minimum distributions.

November 20, 2024

Safe Money

I-Bond Rates in 2025: How the Fed's Decisions Shaped Returns for Conservative Savers

Series I savings bond rates remained in the 3.98–4.03% range through 2025, offering inflation-protected returns with a fixed component that rewarded buyers who locked in rates earlier in the year.

November 1, 2024

Safe Money

CD Rates After the Fed Cuts: How Retirees Should Think About Locking In Now

After the Federal Reserve cut rates in October 2025, top certificate of deposit rates remained above 4% in some terms—but the window for locking in elevated yields is narrowing.

September 18, 2024

Safe Money

Required Minimum Distributions: A Complete Guide Under SECURE 2.0

The SECURE 2.0 Act, signed December 29, 2022, raised the age for required minimum distributions to 73, reduced the penalty for missed withdrawals, and changed inherited IRA rules — here is what account owners and beneficiaries need to understand.

December 29, 2022