The Weekend Edition is pulled from the daily Stansberry Digest.

  Doc's inbox was overflowing with messages...

A few weeks ago, I asked our Digest readers to send in their biggest questions and concerns about retirement today. We explained that Retirement Millionaire editor Dr. David "Doc" Eifrig, in particular, wanted to know your thoughts...

He was thrilled with the response. Some of the questions even surprised him. As Doc wrote in his free Health & Wealth Bulletin on May 26...

We're in a market boom right now. That means a bust is sure to be right around the corner. Plenty of folks wrote in and asked how to handle the coming Melt Down.

But surprisingly, that wasn't the No. 1 concern for retirement though...

It turns out that folks are more worried about the looming threat of inflation.

We've covered inflation closely since the start of 2021... We've expected it to rise as a result of the seemingly endless money-printing that has taken place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as ongoing supply-chain disruptions.

We've already seen "real world" prices rising in various industries. This is stuff that everyday people face the effects of, whether they know it or not.

And in the broader picture, inflation numbers should shape how the Federal Reserve handles monetary policy... which can in turn help or hurt stocks and other investments.

This past Wednesday, the Fed announced expectations of 3.4% inflation this year. That's a full percentage point higher than the central bank's previous prediction in March.

And in their "dot plot" projections, Fed members indicated that they could now hike the benchmark interest rate (perhaps twice) in 2023... as opposed to not at all until 2024, like they had previously said a few months ago.

The major U.S. stock indexes were mostly flat for most of Wednesday. But after that news broke, the benchmark S&P 500 Index and tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index each sold off nearly 1% immediately before rebounding into the end of the day.

  The big problem is that inflation reduces your purchasing power...

I like to refer to inflation as a "hidden tax" that is always there. The more dollars the government creates, the less valuable each dollar becomes.

As Doc also wrote on May 26, this is particularly dangerous for a certain subset of the overall population...

For retirees, your health care becomes more expensive, as well as your housing costs and even your groceries. Simply put, a dollar won't buy as much as it used to before a surge in inflation. And that means you run the risk of outliving your money.

That's scary to think of...

It can be hard enough to calculate how much money you might need in "regular" retirement circumstances. Now, add the government debasing currency at record levels to the mix.

We don't wish the scenario on anyone.

  But with all that said, we have some good news to report...

Doc heard your concerns, and he's now ready to address them in an online event next week.

He's calling his upcoming event a retirement "wake-up call" for every American over age 50. And frankly, we believe any investor – regardless of age – would benefit from what he has to say.

We're sure that inflation will be a big topic during the event. And in general, Doc is planning to discuss the biggest threats to retirees' portfolios today...

That can be any number of things, like soaring taxes... adviser and portfolio fees... skyrocketing medical bills... high stock market valuations... and a beaten-down bond market. And your money may already be in jeopardy.

We don't hear Doc make claims like this very often...

But he says the first domino just fell in what may be the greatest retirement crisis in modern history. And according to Doc, there's one "lie" being told today that could wipe out everything that retirees have worked so hard to build.

Fortunately, though, Doc says there are ways to protect yourself. He and his right-hand man and senior analyst Matt Weinschenk will share everything you need to know during this first-of-its-kind retirement briefing. On June 23, they plan to discuss the safest places to put your money now, what to do with your 401(k), and much more.

  Until then, here's a taste of what you can expect...

Doc recently wrote an essay about "boring old cash," as he called it. And he talked about one of those timeless investing lessons that everyone should understand...

Longtime readers know Doc strongly recommends investors hold "cash"... To him, cash is money that you have in savings, checking accounts, certificates of deposit (CDs), or U.S. Treasury bills. Depending on your goals, he suggests putting anywhere from 5% to as much as 35% of your portfolio in cash.

The idea of parking that much money out of the markets might be hard for a lot of people to stomach. That's especially true in a world where yields on savings accounts and CDs are next to nothing – or worse, depending on inflation.

In Doc's words, from the May 19 Health & Wealth Bulletin...

I get it... Having your dollars on the sidelines rarely feels good. If I told my buddies that a good chunk of my portfolio was sitting in cash during a bull market, I'd probably get laughed at and get called a sissy.

Plus, he acknowledges, it's true – if inflation rises in the coming months, it might be easy to write off cash as a worthwhile place to keep your money. If your purchasing power goes down, what's the use of cash?

But he suggests folks think about cash differently...

Holding cash gives you "optionality" in the market. And optionality can be worth well more than the numbers you see in the cash section of your portfolio.

Doc explained that this is how legendary investor Warren Buffett thinks about the cash positions of his Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) portfolio – which, of course, is one of the most successful investments ever. Buffett thinks of cash as a call option with no expiration date on every asset class that's out there.

As Doc explained in that same Health & Wealth Bulletin essay...

If you're new to options, a call option is a derivative security that allows you to buy shares of an underlying asset. Basically, if things go your way, call options can allow you to purchase stocks for prices well below market prices.

So Buffett is saying that cash has an underrated value. That value is the opportunity to buy stocks and other risk assets at bargain prices.

Think of it like this, Doc continued...

If you are fully invested today in the S&P 500 and it crashes 40%, you're going to look around and see tons of wonderful businesses trading at great prices... world-class stocks like Disney (DIS), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), and Coca-Cola (KO).

But you'll be stuck. You'll need to sell your stocks that are down 40% to free up cash to buy discounted stocks...

If you are fully invested, you can't take advantage of opportunities that come your way.

Conversely, if you have cash on hand, you'll be able to take advantage of buying opportunities – like the type we saw back in March 2020 at the peak of the COVID stock-market panic.

In other words, you could make just as large of a return – if not greater – on that money you have on the sidelines today... And you'll also have peace of mind knowing that you have cash on hand to begin with.

This is just a small taste of the great advice Doc will share next week in his retirement wake-up call. As far as we're concerned, it's a can't-miss event for not just any retiree... but also any investor in general.

All the best,

Corey McLaughlin

Editor's note: On Wednesday at 10 a.m. Eastern time, Doc is kicking off his wake-up call retirement event... It's a must-see for anyone in retirement, close to retirement, or simply dreaming of retirement. And if you reserve your spot early, Doc will send you a free report on how to protect your wealth from Big Government, Big Banks, Big Pharma, Big Everything. That's just the first of many bonuses he has put together for anyone who signs up to attend. Click here to RSVP.