The current retirement environment presents challenges, not only over the period for which interest rates remain low, but also once interest rates appreciably increase. This chapter addresses two related questions: first, how have households responded to the current low interest rate environment, and second, are there alternative responses or investments which households might do well to consider? We employ the Health and Retirement Study to first investigate impacts of the low interest rate on savings, wealth, and asset allocation. We also report on a subset of households who were relatively successful at building and preserving wealth over this period. Following this, we consider alternative portfolio and wealth management strategies targeting increases in equities and delayed claiming of Social Security in terms of their potential to add value in persistent low return environments.
Asset allocation in private wealth management: Theory versus practice