A 68-year-old client, two years into retirement, called Robert worried about the Iran conflict, rising oil prices and inflation. In 25 minutes they reviewed which income sources depended on markets, where higher inflation would hit his spending, and one small adjustment for a longer energy shock. A plan built for disruption answers the question with facts.
What did the client ask?
Robert published this in March 2026. A man he had worked with for several years, 68 and two years into retirement with a good plan and a solid income structure, called at 7:30 in the morning. His first words were, “Should I be worried?” He had been watching the news: the conflict with Iran, oil prices climbing, jittery markets and talk of inflation coming back. He wanted to know from someone he trusted whether his retirement was okay.
Robert told him the instinct was healthy. The energy disruption was real, and higher energy prices do not stay at the gas pump. They move through food, transportation, manufacturing and health care, and they land on retirees, who often live on fixed or semi-fixed incomes with little room to adapt.
What did the 25-minute review cover?
Robert did not offer reassurance or dismissal. He opened the plan they had built together and walked through it:
- which of his income sources were tied to market performance and which were not;
- where his spending would be hit hardest if inflation climbed another two or three points;
- one small, strategic adjustment that would add a buffer if the energy shock lasted longer than markets expected.
Twenty-five minutes later the client said, “Okay, I feel better.” He felt better because he could see for himself that his plan held, in his own situation, with the plan in front of him.
What happens to people without a plan to check?
Not everyone who called an advisor that week had the same experience. Some reached voicemail, some got a generic email about volatility being normal, and some were told to stay the course without anyone reviewing their situation. Some had no one to call. Robert worries most about that last group, because people without a trusted relationship and a clear plan are the ones who make emotional decisions: selling at the wrong time or moving to cash at the wrong time. In retirement, panic is among the most expensive mistakes there is. Selling in a decline while you draw income is the core of sequence of returns risk.
What is a retirement plan for?
Robert’s view is that any plan performs when markets are good. A retirement plan’s job is to keep your life steady when the world gets chaotic, and the world does, over and over. Build the plan for that condition, and review it with someone when the news gets loud. If you have no one to call at 7:30 in the morning, his 30-minute retirement clarity call is a place to start. This page reflects his commentary at the time of recording.
Common questions
- Should retirees change their plan when the news gets bad?
- Review it first. Look at which income sources depend on market performance, where your spending is exposed to inflation, and whether a small adjustment adds a buffer. Emotional moves such as selling or going to cash at the wrong time do more damage than most headlines.
- How does inflation affect retirees?
- Higher energy prices move through food, transportation, manufacturing and health care. Retirees on fixed or semi-fixed incomes have less room to adapt, so a plan needs to show where rising costs would land in your budget and which income sources keep pace.
- What should a retirement plan do in a crisis?
- Hold your life steady. Any plan performs when markets are good. The test is whether your income holds when the world gets chaotic, and whether you can see that for your own situation instead of taking it on faith.
If the decisions on this page are ahead of you, the two of you can work through them with Robert Boeck before any of them becomes permanent.
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