This week’s episode of Wisdom for Your Wisdom Years challenges a familiar assumption — that interest rates are something the Federal Reserve simply “sets.”
Over long periods of time, markets do that work. Supply and demand for capital. Inflation expectations. Risk. Human behavior.
Policy can influence rates, but it cannot override those forces indefinitely without creating distortions.
That matters for retirees, because distortions don’t disappear quietly. They show up later — in income planning, tax compression, and reduced flexibility.
The ultra-low rates of 2020–2021 were not a return to normal. They were an emergency response.
Today’s environment — with long-term rates around historical averages and short-term yields once again visible — feels unfamiliar largely because planning adapted to an abnormal period.
Volatility has returned to interest rates. And unlike markets that trend over time, rates don’t owe anyone a reversion in either direction.
That’s why waiting in cash or trying to “time” rates often feels safer than it actually is. Cash can ease emotional discomfort. But over decades, it doesn’t preserve purchasing power, reduce future tax pressure, or create optionality later in life.
In this episode, Matt outlines why resilient retirement plans are built to function across interest-rate environments — not optimized for a single scenario.
Because in retirement, certainty is rare. Structure is not.
