PROTECT YOUR SAVINGS IN TURBULENT TIMES

Don't let a shaky economy and volatile market derail your retirement. These moves will help ensure your money lasts as long as you do.

- DIANE HARRIS

IF you're looking to increase or preserve your retirement savings, this year has been a roller-coaster ride-and that's true whether you're still collecting a paycheck or you've already made your exit from the workforce.

Conflicting signals about the economy and the financial markets abound. Inflation is finally under control-no, wait, it may be ticking up again, the latest data suggests.

Tariffs are on, then off, higher, then lower, on a continuous loop. Stocks nose-dived in April, then shot up to record highs. As for a possible recession? Economists keep changing their minds, with the latest forecasts putting the chances of a downturn in the next 12 months at 30% to 40%, down from as high as 60% earlier this year.

Faced with these headwinds, many Americans are increasingly stressed about the potential impact on their financial security. More than half of people ages 45 to 75 now say they're concerned about outliving their money in retirement-a jump of six percentage points from a year ago, according to a recent survey from the Alliance for Lifetime Income, a nonprofit consortium of annuity providers. Nearly half of the preretirees and retirees polled are revisiting their retirement plans as a result, with moves that include postponing their retirement, cutting expenses and revamping their investment strategies.

While "stay the course" is standard advice in periods of economic and market turmoil, financial advisers say that reviewing your retirement plan and portfolio now, and tweaking as needed, is critical to ensure you're prepared for whatever comes.

"If you build in protections as part of the planning process, you're not dependent on the markets and the economy doing well to have a successful retirement," says Wade Pfau, a professor at the American College of Financial Services and author of Retirement Planning Guidebook. "Small adjustments can have a really big impact."