Investing - Theory, News & General • Re: TIPS Conundrum

MariaT,

I too am 66 and faced the same conundrum as I'm not in need of the earlier rungs of my TIPS ladder until RMDs start in 2035. As such, Kevin M who is a godsend to this forum on TIPS, posted on the mechanics of swapping the earlier rungs of TIPS ladders to later rungs/ladder extension, as real yields have increased. As such, I chose sycamore's Option 3.

I would, however, not want to have to sell any of my ladder rungs prior to maturity as my overall TIPS value has obviously taken a hit with the increase in real yields and the value will continue to decrease further if they continue to trend even higher. In light of my siginficant average real yield increase in making the swaps though and knowing that I would not realize such losses if the TIPS were held to maturity I personally felt it was worth taking the shot.

As a hedge for dealing with the mental hurdle of locking in current real yields that could continue to trend higher, I set aside a decent stash of additional funds outside of my established ladder that I could use to either increase my established rungs or potentially extend the ladder further at some point in the future. Additionally, the annual dividends I receive from coupons from the later rungs can be used to increase existing TIPS rung amounts or used in the earlier years before RMDs if for some reason I desired/needed some short-term funds.

Good luck,
-bpg1234

Statistics: Posted by bpg1234 — Tue Sep 29, 2026 5:55 pm