January 12, 2026​

​

Retirement: Fighting the Inflation Battle

We’ve all heard stories about how much – or how little – our parents and grandparents paid for their first car or their first home. In 1960s, a brand-new Oldsmobile cost less than $3,000, and the average U.S. home price was $17,800.

Rising prices – a phenomenon called inflation – are a significant risk to retirement. That’s why it’s critical to save as much as you can and invest it to keep pace with or beat inflation over time. In recent years, legislation has made it possible for American workers to boost the amount of money they’re saving in tax-advantaged workplace retirement plans, including:

​

•    401(k) plans, which are for private-sector workers, 
•    403(b) plans, which are for public-sector and non-profit workers, and 
•    457(b) plans, which are for government workers.

​

Catch-up contributions allow people to save more than the maximum plan contribution of $24,500 in 2026. There are four types of catch-up contributions:

​

•    Age 50 catch-up contributions. Participants in 401(k), 403(b), or 457(b) plans can save an additional $8,000 in 2026, as long as they will be age 50 or older by the end of the year.

•    Age 60 to 63 catch-up contributions. Participants in 401(k), 403(b), or 457(b) plans, who will be between the ages of 60 and 63 by the end of 2026, can save an additional $11,250 in 2026.  

•    Fifteen-year catch-up contributions. People who participate in a 403(b) plan and have completed 15 years of service with their organizations can contribute a higher amount to their plans annually, regardless of age. The lifetime limit for these catch-up contributions is $15,000.

•    Three-year catch-up contributions. People who save in a 457(b) plan can defer up to twice the annual contribution limit during the three years before normal retirement age (as established by the plan). The amount of the catch-up contribution depends on amounts previously saved in the plan.

​

In general, one type of catch-up contribution cannot be combined with another type of catch-up contribution. You must choose which to make.

​

If you have questions about your workplace retirement plan, please get in touch. Just as important, if you don’t have a workplace retirement plan and would like to begin saving for retirement, please contact us. There are other tax-advantaged ways to save for retirement.
 

​​​​​Securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advice offered through Private Advisor Group, a registered investment advisor. Private Advisor Group and Parks Wealth Management are separate entities from LPL Financial. ​

* Government bonds and Treasury Bills are guaranteed by the U.S. government as to the timely payment of principal and interest and, if held to maturity, offer a fixed rate of return and fixed principal value. However, the value of fund shares is not guaranteed and will fluctuate.

* Corporate bonds are considered higher risk than government bonds but normally offer a higher yield and are subject to market, interest rate, and credit risk as well as additional risks based on the quality of issuer coupon rate, price, yield, maturity, and redemption features.

* The Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general. You cannot invest directly in this index.

* All indexes referenced are unmanaged. The volatility of indexes could be materially different from that of a client’s portfolio. Unmanaged index returns do not reflect fees, expenses, or sales charges. Index performance is not indicative of the performance of any investment. You cannot invest directly in an index.

* The Dow Jones Global ex-U.S. Index covers approximately 95% of the market capitalization of the 45 developed and emerging countries included in the Index.

* The 10-year Treasury Note represents debt owed by the United States Treasury to the public. Since the U.S. Government is seen as a risk-free borrower, investors use the 10-year Treasury Note as a benchmark for the long-term bond market.

* Gold represents the afternoon gold price as reported by the London Bullion Market Association. The gold price is set twice daily by the London Gold Fixing Company at 10:30 and 15:00 and is expressed in U.S. dollars per fine troy ounce.

* The Bloomberg Commodity Index is designed to be a highly liquid and diversified benchmark for the commodity futures market. The Index is composed of futures contracts on 19 physical commodities and was launched on July 14, 1998.

* The DJ Equity All REIT Total Return Index measures the total return performance of the equity subcategory of the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) industry as calculated by Dow Jones.

* The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), commonly known as “The Dow,” is an index representing 30 stock of companies maintained and reviewed by the editors of The Wall Street Journal.

* The NASDAQ Composite is an unmanaged index of securities traded on the NASDAQ system.

* International investing involves special risks such as currency fluctuation and political instability and may not be suitable for all investors. These risks are often heightened for investments in emerging markets.

* Yahoo! Finance is the source for any reference to the performance of an index between two specific periods.

* Opinions expressed are subject to change without notice and are not intended as investment advice or to predict future performance.

* Economic forecasts set forth may not develop as predicted and there can be no guarantee that strategies promoted will be successful.

* Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal.

* The foregoing information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee it is accurate or complete.

* There is no guarantee a diversified portfolio will enhance overall returns or outperform a non-diversified portfolio. Diversification does not protect against market risk.

* Asset allocation does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss.

* Consult your financial professional before making any investment decision.

* This is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax advice. We suggest you discuss your specific tax issues with a qualified tax advisor.

* These views are those of Carson Coaching, and not the presenting Representative, the Representative’s Broker/Dealer, or Registered Investment Advisor, and should not be construed as investment advice.

* This newsletter was prepared by Carson Coaching. Carson Coaching is not affiliated with the named firm.

​​

Sources:

https://www.barrons.com/articles/stock-market-donald-trump-dow-defense-housing-f2a888d6?mod=hp_LEDE_C_1 or go to https://resources.carsongroup.com/hubfs/WMC-Source/2026/01-12-26-Barrons-Stock-Market-Fundamentals%20-%201.pdf
https://www.barrons.com/livecoverage/december-jobs-report-today?mod=hp_LEDE_C_1 or go to https://resources.carsongroup.com/hubfs/WMC-Source/2026/01-12-26-Barrons-Jobs-Report-Today%20-%202.pdf
https://www.sca.isr.umich.edu or go to https://resources.carsongroup.com/hubfs/WMC-Source/2026/01-12-26-UoM-Surveys-of-Consumers%20-%203.pdf
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/newsletters/2026-01-08/k-now-means-kicking-private-equity-out-of-the-house or go to https://resources.carsongroup.com/hubfs/WMC-Source/2026/01-12-26-Bloomberg-K-Now-Means%204.pdf
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-08/trump-directs-200-billion-mortgage-bond-buy-in-housing-push? or go to https://resources.carsongroup.com/hubfs/WMC-Source/2026/01-12-26-Bloomberg-Trump-Tells-Fannie%20-%205.pdf
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2026-01-08/the-jawboner-in-chief-is-back-and-moving-markets? or go to https://resources.carsongroup.com/hubfs/WMC-Source/2026/01-12-26-Bloomberg-The-Jawboner-in-Chief%20-%206.pdf
https://www.barrons.com/articles/aerovironment-stock-price-defense-trump-winners-losers-e25dd177? or go to https://resources.carsongroup.com/hubfs/WMC-Source/2026/01-12-26-Barrons-Defense-Stock-Winners%20-%207.pdf
https://apnews.com/article/trump-defense-contractors-dividends-buybacks-876b67b72369551340124c5e137bc89d
https://www.barrons.com/articles/ai-bubble-tech-small-caps-ce55f11d?refsec=the-trader&mod=topics_the-trader or go to https://resources.carsongroup.com/hubfs/WMC-Source/2026/01-12-26-Barrons-Its-The-End-of-the-World%20-%209.pdf
https://www.barrons.com/market-data?mod=BOL_TOPNAV or go to https://resources.carsongroup.com/hubfs/WMC-Source/2026/01-12-26-Barrons-DJIA-S&P-Nasdaq%20-%2010.pdf
https://home.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/TextView?type=daily_treasury_yield_curve&field_tdr_date_value=2026
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/average-car-cost-were-born-130001087.html
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MSPUS
https://www.schwab.com/learn/story/how-do-401ks-work-frequently-asked-questions
https://www.schwab.com/learn/story/understanding-457b-vs-403b-retirement-plans
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/401k-limit-increases-to-24500-for-2026-ira-limit-increases-to-7500#:
https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/403b-plans-catch-up-contributions
https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-457b-contribution-limits
https://view.e.economist.com/?qs=4fcbe5b0ecec364eec5f043929a3543c199a014e84e80f9d00815c170a7b6652a7ac6210b37c78a4e3dec8ff30688efc3f7b23f6ed50e1c048d0b6cdf0b0f56c193248706abf330cdca5c96249b47cfc or go to https://resources.carsongroup.com/hubfs/WMC-Source/2026/01-12-26-Economist-Money-Talks%20-%2019.pdf