Will Trump’s Executive Orders Change Retirement Math?
Peter Reagan

It’s been an eventful few days since Trump was sworn into office for his second term. Right out of the gate, Trump issued quite a few executive orders and policy revisions, many with economic consequences. Let’s assess the long-term impact… 

It’s been an eventful few days since Trump was sworn into office for his second term. 

Now, as we all know, with a change in administration, especially going from one administration to another having such different policies, that means to expect quite a few changes in how things are done.

Those changes don’t usually come as quickly as in this case, though.

Right out of the gate, Trump issued quite a few executive orders (his signing hand must be exhausted), many with economic consequences.

Keep in mind, we’re going to avoid the explicitly political executive orders to discuss those that have an economic impact. The ones that will affect your finances and your retirement planning.

With that out of the way, let’s get started… 

So, what did Trump do this time?

Some people, no doubt, will be asking the question in exactly that way (with exasperation in their voice), and the answer is…

Nothing that he didn’t promise during the 2024 campaign. At least, not yet.

Now, to start, you might be surprised at what Trump didn’t do. What he didn’t do is implement massive tariffsacross the board.

Many people are sighing relief at that because, as I’ve talked about before, those tariffs will make goods more expensive here in the U.S. before they begin to reshape and, eventually, boost the economy.

One thing that Trump did immediately do is promising, and that is that he took action to make it easier to do business in the U.S. Andrew Stanton and Sonam Sheth at Newsweek write,

The actions he signed included [... a] regulatory freeze preventing bureaucrats from issuing any more regulations until "we have full control" of the government.

Now, what makes these relevant to you is this:

Slashing red tape boosts business growth

Businesses generally love deregulation. Fewer rules, policies and guidelines means business leaders can sharpen their focus on increasing efficiency, productivity and profits.

Obviously, that’s good news, long-term! A strong, vibrant economy certainly makes it easier to save and prepare for a good retirement.

Beyond that, Trump took some actions that many people will certainly find controversial, but, again, I want to stay away from the political aspects of these other executive orders. 

Now, one example is that Trump both withdrew from the Paris Climate Accord and from the World Health Organization.

Depending on your point of view on those two actions, you may love those choices or you may hate them.

The point here, though, is that our government, which has been punch drunk for decades on deficit spending, could actually get on track to a balanced budget…Maybe even a budget with a surplus so that they can pay down debt.

That’s by no means certain, though.

What can be said about this action is that it’s a step in the right direction (at least as far as spending goes), and the lower the government spending, the less inflation actually occurs. And that means that…

Your retirement savings may last longer…

If your savings aren’t being devalued (as much) by (as much) government spending, it follows that you’ll enjoy increased purchasing power.

That’s a definite win for anyone trying to plan for a secure retirement.

But Trump wasn’t done there. No, he also issued executive orders with the intent of boosting domestic energy production, a move that many people are excited about because…

…the more cheap, reliable energy is, the less expensive it is to do business. 

The hope, of course, is that boosting oil production in the U.S. will both boost the economy and combat inflation by keeping energy costs down.

It’s an appealing thought, and, in other times, is a very sound way of thinking. But that may not pan out the way that Trump wants. Andrew Freedman, Ben Geman, and Daniel Moore at Axios write:

U.S. oil output is already at record levels. Tepid global demand growth makes producers in Texas and elsewhere unlikely to flood the market.

Gasoline and diesel costs are tethered to oil prices set on global markets, while electricity costs tend to be highly regional and dependent on weather and other forces.

What’s that mean? It means that even if Trump is able to encourage more domestic oil production, it may not decrease the cost of oil or anything related to that including gasoline and natural gas costs.

And if those costs don’t decrease, then more oil production won’t decrease transportation costs when it comes to shipping.

On top of that…

Executive orders can make some instant policy. Often they're a symbolic opening of the long, legally fraught bureaucratic slog of formally unwinding agency rules and policies.

And make no mistake, there will be lawsuits from environmentalists to try to prevent more domestic oil production.

Now, I’ve covered a lot of information here, so you may be asking yourself…

What does this all mean?

And that is the perfect question to ask if you’re trying to plan for the future, including retirement.

What it means is this: Trump has already done more that could potentially boost the economy than many Presidents do in their entire administration.

But that doesn’t mean that everything that Trump wants to get done to help the economy will be able to be implemented quickly… if at all.

So, you would be smart not to base your retirement planning on what you think will be the short-term results of Trump’s policies (or long-term, for that matter).

Many smart investors realize exactly that. They realize that you have to plan for your own retirement with an eye towards both foolish politicians in the future might do to try to ruin the economy and, also…

…keeping in mind that situations happen that can throw a wrench in the best laid plans of mice and men (such as the surprisingly cold temperatures in the southeast U.S. that are much lower than normal).

So, what should you do?

Obviously, you have to make the best decision for you and your situation. After all, you’re who has to live with the consequences of that decision.

What I do recommend doing, though, is looking into diversifying into stores of wealth that are both resistant to inflation and that, also, have a history of maintaining purchasing power regardless of what else is going on in the economy.

And what has a several thousand year history of being both inflation resistant and maintaining relatively stable purchasing power no matter what is going on? 
Precious metals. You can start your journey to find out more about diversifying into precious metals when you get your free 2025 Precious Metals Information Kit.

 

 

Peter Reagan is a seasoned financial market strategist at Birch Gold Group with over 15 years of experience in the precious metals industry. He has been featured in several leading publications, including Newsmax and Zerohedge. At Birch Gold Group, Peter leverages his deep market insights to help educate customers on how they can diversify their savings into gold and other precious metals. His commitment to education has made him a trusted thought leader in the field. In addition to the Birch Gold website, you can follow Peter on LinkedIn.

 

www.birchgold.com