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Making the Gold Last in Your Golden Years 让银发岁月的财富永续

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本  

Those approaching retirement should be excited by the prospect of enjoying the financial fruits of their labor. However, despite years of careful investing, many senior citizens have had their retirement funds run out unexpectedly. Even those who have planned and saved diligently must exercise caution before enjoying a long overdue European vacation or home theater system in their golden years.

将届退休的人面对即将享受自己劳动一生后的经济果实应该是兴奋期待的。不过，即使有历年经心的投资，很多长者的退休金却出乎意料地提前用尽了。纵使当事人已经进行了事先规划并尽量节约，在银发岁月享受早该享有的欧洲长期旅游或家庭剧院设备前，仍须三思而行。

The biggest pitfall comes during the first year of retirement because retirees – especially those with stock-heavy portfolios – often make an initial withdrawal that is too large. The danger lies in the stock market; if the market experiences a prolonged “bearish” downturn, as it did between 2000 and 2002, a portfolio’s value drops. If a healthy portfolio principal is not maintained, portfolio funds can be depleted in as little as fifteen years. Essentially, retirees need to eat the fruit of their money tree and not the seeds.

退休第一年是最可能碰到陷阱的时机，因为退休者──尤其是那些投资组合以股票为主的人──经常第一笔提拨支出就比重太大。危险出在股市；如果股市长期持续不振，像是2000年到2002年的情况，整个投资组合的价值就下降了。倘若投资本金不能有效地固守，投资的资金会在15年内就消耗殆尽。事实上，退休者需要吃的是摇钱树的果实，而不是它的种子。

While everyone’s situation is different, most financial planners agree that retirees’ yearly withdrawals should be around 4 percent of the initial value of their portfolio. A recent study indicates that a low withdrawal rate will “virtually guarantee” that a portfolio will last thirty years. Next time you hear the old adage “Money doesn’t grow on tree.” remember it’s especially true when you retire.

由于每个人状况不同，大多数财务规划师都同意，退休人士的年度支出额应该只占他整个投资组合最初价值的百分之四左右。最近有一份研究显示，提拨比率低就能够「实际上担保」整个投资组合可以持续30年之久。下回你听到这句古谚「树上不会长出钱来」，记住当你退休时这句话尤其真切。

Vocabulary

单词发音

golden years 退休时期

prospect [ˋprɑspɛkt] n. 指望；预期

diligently [ˋdɪlədʒəntlɪ] adv. 勤勉地；勤奋地

exercise caution 采取小心的态度

overdue [ˋovɚˋdju] adj. 早就需要﹐早该; 过期的, 未兑的, 迟到的

pitfall [ˋpɪt͵fɔl] n. 陷阱；圈套

retiree [rɪ͵taɪəˋri] n.【美】退休人员

portfolio [portˋfolɪ͵o] n. 投资组合

withdrawal [wɪðˋdrɔəl] n.〔从银行账户中〕提款; 提款额

bearish [ˋbɛrɪʃ] adj. 行情看跌的; 股票看跌的

principal [ˋprɪnsəp!] n. 本金

deplete [dɪˋplit] v. 耗尽……的资源（精力等）；削减﹐损耗

adage [ˋædɪdʒ] n. 谚语；格言；古语；箴言

Sentence of the Day

In retirement, you have less money to burn.

退休后可以挥霍的钱财变少，手头会比较紧。

burn [bɝn] v. 消耗；浪费

课文讲解

Ted, a recent retiree, is talking to his financial planner Sally:  泰德最近退休了，正在和他的财务顾问莎丽谈话：

S: Ted, I think we need to diversify your portfolio. Almost all of your money is in stocks, and the market’s been sliding a bit lately. If it really drops, you could lose a lot of money.

泰德，我想我们必须让你的投资组合多元化。你几乎所有的钱都放在股市里，而股市最近却小幅下滑。倘若它真正直直落，你的钱可能会损失很多。

T: What do you mean? The market’s been strong for years.

你是什么意思？股市已经旺了很多年了。

S: No stock, even the blue chip variety, is immune to a drop in the market. I suggest you put at least some of your money into bonds.

所有股票，包括各种的蓝筹股，都不能免于跌势。我建议你至少放一些钱在债市。

T: But bonds hardly make any money; sometimes they don’t even keep up with inflation!

但是债市获益很少；有时候甚至赶不上通货膨胀的速度。

S: Bonds aren’t good money-maker – that’s true – but when the market is down, they’re a safe place for your money to cover inflation.

债市不是金鸡母──的确──不过当股市下跌，它们却是保本的良好避风港，而且好的债券也能产生足够效益来抵消通货膨胀的损失。

T: Well, bonds may preserve my portfolio value when the market’s down, but stocks make real money when the market is up! I want to keep a healthy percentage of my savings in them.

债券让我在股市低迷时能够保本，但是股票却让我在市场活络时能够真正赚到钱。我要把存款的投资比率调整得更为健全。

S: As you’ve just retired though, I suggest a conservative mix: 60 percent in bonds, and the rest in dividend-paying stocks.

因为你最近已经退休了，我建议用保守型的投资组合：百分之六十放在债券上，其他放在分红式的个股里。

T: Sounds reasonable to me. I just don’t want to be stuck watching the rodeo while everyone else is riding that bull market.

听起来很合理。我只是不想当别人在大涨的牛市里干活时，我却只能晾在外面看戏。

－by Alex Adair

Vocabulary

单词发音

diversify [daɪˋvɝsə͵faɪ] v. 使多样化

slide [slaɪd] v. 滑落；下落

immune [ɪˋmjun] adj. 免于……的

inflation [ɪnˋfleʃən] n. 通货膨胀

preserve [prɪˋzɝv] v. 保存

conservative [kənˋsɝvətɪv] adj. 保守的

dividend [ˋdɪvə͵dɛnd] n. 红利；股息

rodeo [ˋrodɪ͵o] n. 牛仔竞技表演〔驯服烈马﹑用绳圈套牛〕

bull market  行情看涨的市场

Sentence of the Day

It may be necessary to pinch your pennies.

或许你得精打细算。

pinch pennies  精打细算