In a perfect world, the stock market would always work in your favor.

The reality, however, is that dips are bound to happen and can be particularly problematic in your early retirement years.

For this reason, saving for retirement and planning for market downturns is essential, especially if you’re a homeowner and wondering if you should put your home up for sale.

When the stock market dips, retirees could be in a ‘danger zone’

Factors such as inflation, the political climate, and fears of a recession can all lead to stock market dips. A recent CNBC article described the impact of these downturns on retirees.

“Your first five years of retirement are the ‘danger zone’ for tapping accounts during a downturn,” as you’ll have less money for future growth when the market rebounds, Amy Arnott, a portfolio strategist with Morningstar Research Service, explains.

Arnott’s primary advice for those who hope to avoid this issue is diversification.

“Typically, you’ll keep one to two years of living expenses in cash, which would be accessible during market dips,” Arnott says. The next five years, you may use short- to intermediate-term bonds or bond funds.

From there, you can prioritize growth through stocks. As long as you plan accordingly and don’t put all your eggs in one basket, you’re less likely to outlive your savings.

Why retirees need to watch the market—and why they don’t 

“Some retirees need to keep an eye on the market because pulling money out when it’s down can hurt their savings over time,” says Taylor Kovar, Certified Financial Planner and founder of 11 Financial. If these retirees were forced to sell investments at a lower value, they could lose more than if they had waited for the market to bounce back.

“For others, the market is not as big of a deal. If you have other income streams, like a pension, or if you don’t rely solely on your investments, you may not be as impacted by market dips,” explains Kovar.  At the end of the day, it all depends on how much of your income is coming from that nest egg.

Also, for those thinking about downsizing, the market is essential.

“If the market is strong, you could sell your home for a good price and find something more affordable. But if the market is down, you might not get as much for your house, and finding the perfect smaller place could be tricky,” adds Kovar.

Since it’s always good to have a backup plan, Kovar suggests renting for a while, as this could be a safer option while the market settles.

How to protect your nest egg if you’re a retiree

While you can’t control the stock market, these tips can help you safeguard your retirement savings:

• Diversify: “Having a mix helps protect you if one area takes a hit,” says Kovar. Look beyond stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, and consider alternative investments like real estate or even startups or precious metals. Annuities may also be worthwhile, especially if you like the idea of guaranteed returns. Get creative and think about the various retirement income sources at your disposal.

• Build an emergency fund: “Keep enough savings to cover several months of expenses,” says Kovar. You never know when the extra funds will come in handy. This strategy can prevent you from having to sell investments when the market is down.

• Cut your expenses: Take a close look at your expenses and figure out where you can cut back. Perhaps you have a gym membership you no longer use. Or maybe you can eat at home more often and save on dining out. “Less expenses will stretch your savings further and reduce the stress on your investments,” says Kovar.

• Delay Social Security benefits: You can begin to collect Social Security at age 62. However, depending on your situation, it might be in your best interest to put this off for a few years so that you can increase your monthly benefits and offset the impact of inflation.

• Consider a side gig or part-time work: Not only can an additional income stream give you some peace of mind during retirement, it may also provide opportunities for socialization and fun while improving your physical and mental health.

• Reassess your housing situation: If your house no longer suits your needs, downsizing may make sense. It can potentially save you money and boost your retirement savings. Plus, it may reduce the need for home maintenance and repairs, which can become particularly costly in retirement.

Members of the U.S. armed forces qualify for special tax breaks, which can offer unique financial planning opportunities, experts say.

Typically, earnings are higher after military service because there are two sources of income: your new career and your military retirement benefits, said certified financial planner Patrick Beagle, owner and president of WealthCrest Financial Services in Springfield, Va. The firm specializes in military and federal employees.

During service, it’s smart to make after-tax Roth contributions to a Thrift Savings Plan, or TSP, retirement accounts, he said. Roth deposits are after taxes, but the funds grow tax-free.

“You’re probably making a mistake” if you skip Roth TSP contributions while serving during your lower-income years, said Beagle, who is also a retired Marine aviator.

‘Tax-free’ combat zone income

Weigh Roth conversions

After getting two Supplemental Security Income checks in February, beneficiaries will get their April payment at the normal time – but the month of May brings more payment quirks.

Usually SSI checks hit on the first of the month, unless the date lands on a federal holiday or weekend. April 1 is a Tuesday, so that’s when SSI checks will arrive.

About 7.4 million Americans who may be disabled or have limited resources get monthly SSI benefit payments. About one-third of those who get SSI also get Social Security.

Traditional Social Security payments – for those who are older or retired – are issued for most recipients on Wednesdays throughout the month. So, if your birthdate falls between the first and 10th of the month, you are paid on the second Wednesday of the month; between the 11th and 20th, you’re paid on the third Wednesday, and if you were born after the 20th of the month, you get paid on the fourth Wednesday of the month, according to the Social Security Administration’s calendar.

Recipients who began getting Social Security before May 1997 are paid on the 3rd of the month – and if they also get SSI, that benefit comes on the 1st.

In May, SSI recipients will get two checks: the May SSI payment is scheduled to be issued on May 1, according to the SSA calendar, and the June SSI payment on May 30 – payments are issued early because June 1 falls on a weekend.

That means in June, as it was in March, SSI beneficiaries will not get a payment in that calendar month.

The calendar quirk crops up again in August when SSI recipients will get two checks – the August payment on Aug. 1 and the September payment on Aug. 29 – but no payment in the calendar month of September.

SSI recipients will also get two checks in October, but not one in the calendar month of November, according to the SSA calendar.

When are SSI payments sent out for April? See full 2025 payment schedule

Supplemental Security Income checks will be sent out on the following dates in 2025, according to the SSA calendar.

• Tuesday, April 1, 2025 (Check for April 2025)
• Thursday, May 1, 2025 (Check for May 2025)
• Friday, May 30, 2025 (Check for June 2025)
• Tuesday, July 1, 2025 (Check for July 2025)
• Friday, Aug. 1, 2025 (Check for August 2025)
• Friday, Aug. 29, 2025 (Check for September 2025)
• Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025 (Check for October 2025)
• Friday, Oct. 31, 2025 (Check for November 2025)
• Monday, Dec. 1, 2025 (Check for December 2025)
• Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025 (Check for January 2026)

What is SSI?

Supplemental Security Income is a benefit payment for those with limited income or resources aged 65 or older, who are blind or have a qualifying disability. Children with a qualifying disability can also get SSI, according to the SSA’s website.

In general, adults who qualify for SSI do not earn more than $2,019 from work monthly.

If you or someone you know thinks they may be eligible for SSI, you can begin the application process online, in person at your local Social Security office, or by calling 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) between 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time during the work week.

If you think you may want to apply for Social Security or SSI in the near future, you may want to create an online account soon if you haven’t, as the agency is implementing “stronger identity verification procedures,” including online identity proofing, starting March 31.

North Liberty, Iowa — At the weekly senior lunch social in North Liberty, Iowa, chicken was on the menu, but Social Security was top of mind.

Iowa, like the U.S., is aging. One in four people in the state is age 60 and older, according to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. Uncertainty in Washington means anxiety here.

Anne Bacon tells CBS News the issue gives her “daymares.”

Bacon relies on the $1,600 a month she receives from Social Security to pay for the 24-hour care of her brother, Rick Clark, who has dementia.

“Every day I’m worried that somehow he’ll lose his care,” Bacon said.

When a Social Security check didn’t arrive in January, Bacon called the agency and ended up on hold for more than six hours on two separate calls. When she finally got someone on the phone, the problem was resolved in minutes.

The average wait time for Social Security calls has doubled in the last six months to 104 minutes.

John Hale worked for Social Security for 25 years. He and his wife Terri are now advocates for older and disabled Iowans through the Hale Group.

“It’s about retirement benefits,” Hale said. “It’s about survivors’ benefits, and about payments to people with disabilities.”

President Trump has insisted that he is not touching Social Security, which has more than 70 million recipients. But he is touching jobs within the agency. Last month, the agency announced plans to cut about 7,000 employees, or about 12% of its workforce.

The agency has also been hit by a bevy of changes. The Social Security Administration announced earlier this month that it would require in-person identity checks for new and existing beneficiaries, with some limited exemptions. Following backlash to the move, this week it said it was delaying implementation of the policy until April 14.

Also this month, the SSA said that recipients would no longer be able to change direct deposit and other banking information with the agency by phone, claiming that it could lead to fraud. Recipients will instead be required to use the SSA’s online platform or visit a local SSA office.

The moves come as Frank Bisignano, President Trump’s nominee to run the SSA, faced questions during his Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday about the potential role of the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, in the SSA. DOGE is being run by billionaire Elon Musk.

“One of the things that concerns us, and I think concerns those people, is there’s a bunch of billionaires who are making decisions about this service who will never need Social Security,” Terri Hale said. “They’ll never have a family member who needs Social Security. They are out of touch with the real world.”

The Social Security Administration announced Wednesday that it is pushing back the rollout of a controversial anti-fraud measure by two weeks and reducing the number of applicants it will affect.

It’s the latest backtrack at the agency, which is in turmoil amid a massive reorganization spurred by the Department of Government Efficiency, and comes as the Elon Musk-led initiative is hunting for fraud at Social Security. More than 73 million Americans receive Social Security benefits.

The planned policy, which was set to take effect Monday, would have required all those filing benefit applications who cannot verify their identities through their online “my Social Security” account to visit a field office to complete the claim in person.
Currently, they can also apply over the phone.

But now the new identity verification policy will only apply to those filing for retirement, survivors or family benefits and will take effect on April 14.

People applying for disability benefits, Supplemental Security Income and Medicare will continue to have the option of filing their claims over the phone.

Also, the agency will not require filers in “extreme dire-need situations,” such as terminal illnesses, to adhere to the new policy and will instead develop an alternate process for them, it said.

“We have listened to our customers, Congress, advocates, and others,” Lee Dudek, Social Security’s acting commissioner, said in a statement, noting the delay allows for more training for employees. Applicants for disability, SSI and Medicare have other opportunities to verify their identity during the decision process, he said.

Pushing millions to understaffed offices

Advocates have raised concerns that the change would prove onerous for senior citizens and people with disabilities who are not able to go online or travel to agency offices.

“Our members nationwide have told us this change would require hundreds of miles and hours of travel merely to fill out paperwork,” Nancy LeaMond, AARP’s chief advocacy and engagement officer, said in a statement. “Merely delaying the implementation of this change is not enough, though.”

The change, along with another new rule barring beneficiaries from changing their bank account information over the telephone, could send millions more people to the agency’s offices, forcing folks to wait longer for payments and straining Social Security’s operations at a time when the agency is downsizing its staff, advocates have said.

The new policy regarding bank account information will take effect on April 15, instead of Saturday, as originally planned, according to an agency spokesperson.

However, a two-week delay is still “nowhere near enough time” to develop a comprehensive plan, train staff and inform the public of the identity verification change, Kathleen Romig, director of Social Security and disability policy at the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, wrote in a Bluesky thread.

Plus, she questioned the need for such a policy.

“SSA has provided no evidence of direct deposit fraud that would require such heavy burdens on customers & staff, & no evidence at all of apps filed under assumed identities,” Romig wrote.

The agency reported $88 million of confirmed fraud for financial fraud in fiscal year 2023, according to a Congressional Research Service report. That’s separate from improper payments, though some of these payments may have fraud-related causes. Social Security sends about $1.5 trillion in payments annually.

Last week, he suggested he would shut down the agency in the wake of a court ruling temporarily blocking DOGE representatives from having access to Social Security data containing individuals’ personal information. He then announced in a news release that he would not do so after getting clarification from the judge.

Dudek has rolled out a series of rapid-fire changes – as well as some reversals – during his stint as acting commissioner, which began less than six weeks ago. He told advocates in a call earlier this week that these types of policies typically take two years to implement but said the White House is pushing him to act swiftly.

And earlier this month, he reversed a decision to end a program that lets parents sign up their newborns for a Social Security number and card at the hospital in at least one state, admitting it was a mistake. Dudek told The New York Times in an interview last week that he originally ordered the change because he was “ticked” at Maine’s governor (who is a Democrat) for “not being real cordial” to President Donald Trump at the White House.

YouTube is switching off some push notifications for channels with frequent uploads in a new test that might make you miss alerts you’ve signed up for. The latest test announced by the official TeamYouTube community targets channels that users have notifications set to “all” for, but often don’t open those notifications. The test won’t turn off notifications for channels that don’t upload frequently, as TeamYouTube member Rob noted:

Viewers who haven’t recently engaged with a channel despite having been sent recent push notifications will not receive push notifications in the experiment. Notifications will still be available via the notification inbox in the YouTube app. Channels that upload infrequently will not have their notifications affected. Actively engaged viewers with push notifications enabled on their device will continue to receive them. (No change)

It’s not clear whether users will have any indication that they’re missing notifications, and it doesn’t seem normal to have a platform manage your notifications for you. “When viewers turn off all notifications from YouTube, all creators are unable to reach even their most engaged viewers outside the app. The goal of this experiment is to help us find ways to reduce this problem,” wrote Rob. Too many notifications can certainly be annoying, it’s possible some viewers want to see their favorite channels’ updates, even if they don’t immediately watch them. The test is just a “small experiment,” but there’s no mention of how long it will go on for or whether it will expand to more users.

Slowdown a ‘red herring’

Americans continue to sour on the US economic outlook as uncertainty around President Trump’s policies and higher prices weigh on consumer sentiment.

The latest consumer confidence index reading from the Conference Board was 92.9 in March, below the 100.1 seen in February and the lowest level in more than four years. The expectations index, which is based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions, ticked down to 65.2 from 72.9 and remained below the threshold of 80 — which typically signals recession ahead — for the second straight month.

This marked a 12-year low for the expectations index, which was driven in part by consumers’ expectations of their financial situation hitting its lowest level in more than two years.

“One of the most significant developments that we have seen was a decline in financial situation expectations from consumers,” Yelena Shulyatyeva, Conference Board senior US economist, told Yahoo Finance. “So that seems to suggest that all this uncertainty around economic outlook is really starting to weigh on consumers’ assessment of how they will fare going forward.”

The Conference Board noted in the release that of the five components that contribute to consumer confidence, only the respondents’ assessment of current labor market conditions moved higher in March. Future expectations were particularly dour, with consumers’ inflation expectations rising to 6.2% in March, up from 5.8% in February. For the first time since 2023, consumers turned negative on the stock market outlook, with just 37.4% of respondents expecting stocks to rise over the next year.

Meanwhile, those expecting a lower income in the next 12 months rose to 15.5% from 12.8% in February, marking the highest level of respondents expecting a lower income in the next year since November 2022.

“This data suggests that consumers lack confidence in their job security such that they can ask for higher wages,” Jefferies US economist Tom Simons wrote in a note to clients on Tuesday. “The direction of travel in this indicator is concerning, but the levels aren’t quite at thresholds that we expect would trigger big shifts in spending behavior.”

Tuesday’s reading is one of several that have shown weakening expectations for the economy among consumers. The growing market fear is that consumers feeling worse about the economic outlook could prompt more cautious spending.

But Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and economists question whether readings in the “soft” survey data like the consumer confidence index will translate to a deterioration in the “hard” economic data like real consumer spending.

“The relationship between survey data and actual economic activity hasn’t been very tight,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference on March 19. “There have been plenty of times where people are saying very downbeat things about the economy and then going out and buying a new car. But we don’t know that that will be the case here. We will be watching very carefully for signs of weakness in the real data.”

For now, economists have largely argued that while the overall growth outlook for the US economy may now be weaker than initially thought coming into the year, there isn’t a clear sign of a significant slowdown.

In a research note to clients on Sunday, Morgan Stanley’s chief global economist wrote that “all the crises about recession” are “probably” overdone. He pointed to January’s decline in retail sales spooking investors, only to then be reversed by a gain in February.

Google has the pedal to the metal on its AI development. Just a few months after the debut of Gemini 2.0, the tech giant has unveiled another upgrade in Gemini 2.5. As with any new AI launch, Google is touting a strong performance on LMArena for Gemini 2.5, particularly its capabilities in coding, mathematics and science. The first model in this series is Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental. Google said this is a thinking model that’s intended to provide responses grounded in more reasoning, analysis and context than the answers offered by classification- and prediction-driven models. It’s a different approach than Google took with the Gemini 2.0 series, which started off with the more efficient and less expensive Flash version. “With Gemini 2.5, we’ve achieved a new level of performance by combining a significantly enhanced base model with improved post-training,” the company said in a blog post attributed to Koray Kavukcuoglu, CTO of Google DeepMind. “Going forward, we’re building these thinking capabilities directly into all of our models, so they can handle more complex problems and support even more capable, context-aware agents.” Google had only just started rolling out Gemini 2.0 to its services, using it to power the newly added AI Mode in search and Deep Research for handling more complex queries. With today’s launch, expect to hear more updates from the company about getting this latest version. Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental is available now in Google AI Studio, and Gemini Advanced members can use it directly in the Gemini app.

Apple officially set the date for WWDC 2025 today, which is where it will announce iOS 19 and its other new software platforms. According to rumors, iOS 19 is set to be one of the biggest software revamps in Apple’s history. Now, a new video from Jon Prosser has more tidbits on what to expect from the all-new iOS 19 design. Mark Gurman, meanwhile, says Apple has even more planned for iOS 19 and Prosser’s renders are missing key details … Prosser previously shared mockups of the revamped Camera and Messages apps coming with iOS 19. According to Prosser, these mockups (and the ones in today’s video) were created based on actual footage he saw of iOS 19 in action. Prosser worked with 3D artist Asher Dipprey to make these mockups. Today’s video from Prosser outlines a few details on what to expect from iOS 19’s new design:

• A “glassy, visionOS-themed” design that spans apps, buttons, the keyboard, and more.
• The new look will feature a “more rounded aesthetic and glossy, almost glassy styling,” where edges of interface elements “sort of pop up from the screen.”
• The keyboard in particular “almost looks like it’s floating” thanks to this new design.
• Many similarities to the design details we’ve seen in the Apple Sports and Apple Invites apps.

One thing Prosser specifically calls out at the end of the video is that the version of iOS 19 that he saw doesn’t use circular app icons on the Home Screen. He notes that “there’s always a chance” that could change and rounded Home Screen icons could happen. In a post on social media, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says that these images “aren’t representative of what we’ll see at WWDC” and are “based on either very old builds or vague descriptions, missing key features.” Gurman says we should “expect more from Apple in June” than what these leaks show. As of right now, I don’t think what we’ve seen lives up to the hype that iOS 19 will be Apple’s biggest visual revamp since iOS 7. It’s good to know that Gurman says there’s more to the story.