Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.
The advice to shift toward bonds as you approach retirement is one of the most repeated pieces of financial guidance in existence, and like most repeated advice, it contains real wisdom alongside oversimplification. At 58, the conversation is worth having seriously, not because bonds are automatically right for everyone at this age, but because the reasoning behind the recommendation deserves a clear-eyed evaluation against your specific situation.
The core argument for bonds near retirement is straightforward: you have less time to recover from a major market downturn, and bonds historically carry less volatility than equities.
What Bonds Actually Are and What They Do
A bond is a loan you make to a government or corporation in exchange for regular interest payments and the return of your principal at maturity. When you buy a U.S. Treasury bond, you are lending money to the federal government. When you buy a corporate bond, you are lending to a company. The interest rate, called the coupon, is fixed at issuance, and the maturity date tells you when you get your principal back.
Don’t Miss:
Unlike stocks, bonds do not represent ownership in anything. They do not appreciate based on company performance. Their value in the secondary market fluctuates with interest rates, rising when rates fall and falling when rates rise, but if you hold to maturity, you receive exactly what was promised.
The Case for Shifting Allocations at 58
The classic rule of thumb was to hold your age in bonds, meaning a 58-year-old would keep 58% of their portfolio in fixed income. Most modern financial planners consider that too conservative given longer life expectancies, but the underlying logic is sound: a portfolio that is 80% equities at 58 could lose 35% to 40% of its value in a severe bear market, and you have roughly seven years before a typical retirement age of 65. Seven years is recoverable, but it is not comfortable, and sequence-of-returns risk, the danger of a major loss just before or just after you retire, is one of the most damaging events in retirement planning.
How Much to Shift and Into What
The more useful question than whether to own bonds is which bonds and how much. Short-term Treasury bonds and Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, known as TIPS, are generally more appropriate for near-retirees than long-duration corporate bonds, which carry both credit risk and significant interest rate sensitivity.
Trending: Investors are moving beyond traditional IRAs — using self-directed accounts to access real estate, crypto, and alternative assets
TIPS are issued by the U.S. Treasury and adjust their principal value with inflation, making them useful for protecting purchasing power in retirement. I-bonds, also from Treasury Direct, offer inflation-adjusted returns with no secondary market risk if held to maturity, though annual purchase limits of $10,000 per person apply.
What a Reasonable Allocation Looks Like
A common target for someone at 58 planning to retire at 65 is a 60% equity, 40% bond split, shifting gradually toward 50/50 by retirement. That is not a universal prescription. Your Social Security income, any pension, your other assets, and your risk tolerance all affect the right number. What is generally agreed upon is that a 90% equity portfolio at 58 is more risk than most people realize they are taking.
SoFi Invest gives you access to bond funds and fixed income ETFs that let you adjust your allocation without having to buy individual bonds, which simplifies the process considerably for most investors.
Before you move anything, calculate what percentage of your retirement income will come from guaranteed sources like Social Security and any pension. The higher that guaranteed floor is, the more equity risk your portfolio can comfortably carry.
Read Next:
Building Wealth Across More Than Just the Market
Building a resilient portfolio means thinking beyond a single asset or market trend. Economic cycles shift, sectors rise and fall, and no one investment performs well in every environment. That’s why many investors look to diversify with platforms that provide access to real estate, fixed-income opportunities, precious metals, and even self-directed retirement accounts. By spreading exposure across multiple asset classes, it becomes easier to manage risk, capture steady returns, and create long-term wealth that isn’t tied to the fortunes of just one company or industry.
Arrived
Backed by Jeff Bezos, Arrived Homes makes real estate investing accessible with a low barrier to entry. Investors can buy fractional shares of single-family rentals and vacation homes starting with as little as $100. This allows everyday investors to diversify into real estate, collect rental income, and build long-term wealth without needing to manage properties directly.
Immersed
Immersed is building technology for the future of work through spatial computing. Known for its AR/VR productivity platform that enables users to work across multiple virtual screens, the company has grown to more than 1.5 million users worldwide. Immersed is also developing Visor, a lightweight headset designed specifically for professional productivity, positioning the company at the intersection of remote work, extended reality (XR), and next-generation computing.
Vinovest
Fine wine and rare whiskey have historically moved independently of the stock market, making them a compelling alternative asset. Vinovest manages authenticated, insured portfolios of investment-grade wine and whiskey starting at $5,000 — sourcing, storage, and insurance all handled for you.
EnergyX
EnergyX is a clean energy technology company focused on direct lithium extraction and refinery technologies for the lithium-ion battery supply chain. Its proprietary DLE systems are designed to recover lithium from brine resources more efficiently and with less environmental impact, supporting efforts to expand lithium supply for electric vehicles, grid-scale storage, and other battery applications.
FarmTogether
Farmland has historically held its value through market volatility and delivered returns uncorrelated to stocks and bonds. For accredited investors, FarmTogether offers direct access to high-quality U.S. farmland starting at $15,000 — fully managed, with no landlord headaches.
EquityMultiple
For accredited investors looking beyond stocks and bonds, EquityMultiple provides access to vetted commercial real estate deals starting at $5,000, with only ~5% of opportunities passing their due diligence process.
Fundrise
Private real estate and private credit can add income and stability to a stock-heavy portfolio. Fundrise offers access to diversified private real estate and credit strategies through an easy-to-use platform, with professionally managed portfolios designed to generate passive income and long-term growth.
American Hartford Gold
American Hartford Gold is a precious metals dealer that helps clients buy physical gold and silver coins and bars, either for direct delivery or within self-directed precious metals IRAs. The company’s services include gold and silver IRAs, IRA rollovers, and home delivery of bullion, giving investors a way to use tangible metals to diversify portfolios and seek protection against inflation and market volatility.
Mode Mobile
Mode Mobile is changing the way people interact with their phones by letting users earn money from the same apps and activities they already use every day. Instead of platforms keeping all the advertising revenue, Mode Mobile shares a portion back with users who engage with content, play games, and scroll on their devices. Named one of Deloitte’s fastest-growing software companies in North America, the company has built a large beta user base and is scaling a model that turns everyday smartphone usage into a potential income stream.
Lightstone
Lightstone DIRECT gives accredited investors access to institutional-quality multifamily real estate opportunities backed by a vertically integrated operator with more than $12 billion in assets under management and a 40-year track record. With more than 25,000 multifamily units nationwide — including significant exposure to low-supply Midwest markets where rent growth has remained resilient — Lightstone is positioning investors to benefit from tightening housing supply, strong occupancy trends, and long-term rental demand.
Image: Shutterstock
This article I’m 58 and My Financial Advisor Keeps Telling Me to Move Into Bonds. Should I Listen? originally appeared on Benzinga.com
© 2026 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.