being strongly in stocks makes a lot of sense in the current market.
Keep in mind that on average, stocks go up around 8% each year. Sometimes more, sometimes less, sometimes in a negative amount. But two out of every three years stocks go up.
I'm not entirely certain where the standard wisdom that older people should hardly be in stocks came about. Maybe in the 1970s when interest rates were astonishingly high, and bonds were an excellent investment. That hasn't been true since about 1980.
I know that here on DU financial advisors are generally thought poorly of. But I have one who has done me very well. He's guided my investments so that I am protected on the down side. I don't do quite as well on the upside, but overall I do very well. Example is in that sharp downturn in early 2020 when the Dow lost some 10,000 points, or around 30%. My investments dropped significantly less than that, perhaps 15%. The most important thing is that I didn't panic sell anything, because I trusted my advisor and knew I'd recover. And I did.
Meanwhile, I am able to increase my payout from my investments periodically. Which means that I am not living on a fixed income, but one that tends to accommodate increases in the cost of living.
Honestly, it's the trying to time the market, and especially the panic selling that ruins people.
Another thing that is regularly trashed here, and elsewhere, are annuities. I don't quite understand it. That same wonderful advisor got me into two different annuities nearly a decade ago. A single payment purchase in both cases. I started collecting from them several years ago, and the return on them has been quite good. Their value keeps on going up, even as I take out money. Plus, whatever is left when I die goes to my heir. I'm not likely to live long enough for every single penny to be used up. And if that actually happens, oh well. My heir will get other money from me.
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