An Income Strategy That Will Shield You from America’s Retirement Disaster

Listen to this post

For those who worked their entire life in hopes of having enough stashed away to enjoy their golden years in peace, many are finding they didn’t have enough.

We’re suddenly all talking about the “Unretirement Crisis” that’s gripping America.

A person works their entire adult life – toiling into their late 60s to reach their retirement – only to have to return to the workforce… with the prospect of working forever.

And that’s the catalyst for the “Unretirement Crisis” the doomsayers are talking about.

Unfortunately, the real story is worse… much worse.

We’re deep into the “Not Enough Era,” and the numbers are frightening.


Not too long ago, Boston College estimated that there was a $7.1 trillion retirement-savings shortfall among American households. It’s setting up conditions like people faced during the Great Depression, where Americans worked until they died or had to rely on charity when they physically couldn’t work anymore.

That’s absolutely the path “Gen X” is on.

The generation born between 1965 and 1980.

A generation where “Wolly Bully” by Sam the Sham and Pharaohs sat at the top of Billboard magazine’s Top 100 Hot Songs list in 1965 and “Call Me” by Blondie won the top spot in 1980.

One of the first generations where both parents worked full time.

A generation that became more educated than their parents.

And unfortunately… a generation that’s the closest to retirement – with not enough money saved.

Data from investment bank Natixis found that the average median retirement savings for Gen Xers is $81,000.

As in “this is everything I have.”

Nowhere near the projected $1.2 million retirement fund you would need to live comfortably… but even that amount needed may now be an underestimate.

Americans lost $6.8 trillion in stock-and-housing wealth last year, as inflation and uncertainty hammered markets and drained wallets. And there’s no “calvary” galloping to the rescue: This crisis will only get worse.

That’s the bad news.

The good news is that you can start taking steps immediately to get back on track.

I’m talking about investing for income.

And not income from CDs, bonds, money markets, or the usual suspects that provide yawn-returning yields.

I’m talking about “new school” approaches that account for the times we are living in today.

Where uncertainty is the new normal… and you have to figure out ways to generate a constant stream of income.

Income ETFs

I shared earlier in the week a strategy for monthly income generation through high-yield ETFs.

Something to be aware of with monthly dividend ETFs is that you should not expect price appreciation as a main benefit. The price performance is normally choppy and can significantly trail behind major indexes.

However, the dividend payouts can more than cover any marginal loss from price performance.


One example is the Global X SuperDividend ETF (SDIV), which holds companies that rank as the highest-dividend payers around the world.

It has a massive yield of 13.68%.

And while the yield is a bit lower, one of the “Steady Eddy” income ETFs is the Invesco S&P 500 High Dividend Low Volatility ETF (SPHD). It invests 90% of its assets in stocks listed in the S&P 500 Low Volatility High Dividend Index, which means the fund is centered around stocks in stable industries – like utilities and defense.

It has a very respectable yield of 4.21%.

I also shared a stock that not only has a dividend yield that’s above 13% as of this writing… but the most bullish of analysts predict this stock price could nearly double in the next year.

This is the type of advice you will keep finding in TradeSmith Daily.

To make sure your retirement isn’t a frightful future event… but one that you should be looking forward.