> Even VTINX has a conservative mix of 30% stocks.
Your average retiree does not live off of VTINX.
> I'd say if you cannot afford to hold any stocks you're probably not yet ready to retire.
There's so many variables here that it's really not worth discussing.
I'll just say that investing in stocks for retirement is a pretty recent fascination that is far less common outside of the US and in poorer regions in the US.
Plenty of American retirees (maybe even a majority) own little to no stocks and live on a fixed income, making them very vulnerable to inflation (which was the whole basis of OP's idea that old people are holding up the stock market).
> There's so many variables here that it's really not worth discussing.
Fair enough. I only want to clarify what you wrote: "the average retiree should not hold stocks." To be crystal clear:
1. don't go out and buy individual stocks on a lark (good advice)
2. get all worried because your 401k is a conservative mix of mutual funds (hopefully index funds, probably managed mutual funds) and bonds (bad advice)
> Plenty of American retirees (maybe even a majority) own little to no stocks and live on a fixed income
The logically necessary flip-side is all I'm addressing: plenty of American retirees hold stocks in a 401k. To them I reiterate: don't fuss around with your target retirement fund.
Your average retiree does not live off of VTINX.
> I'd say if you cannot afford to hold any stocks you're probably not yet ready to retire.
There's so many variables here that it's really not worth discussing. I'll just say that investing in stocks for retirement is a pretty recent fascination that is far less common outside of the US and in poorer regions in the US.
Plenty of American retirees (maybe even a majority) own little to no stocks and live on a fixed income, making them very vulnerable to inflation (which was the whole basis of OP's idea that old people are holding up the stock market).