Low interest rates certainly "hurt" savers including some retirees. But low interest rates benefit anyone buying a home or car (even some retirees don't pay cash) and encourage businesses to borrow for capital expenditures/expansion among other benefits. That helps the economy. Retirees benefit from a healthy economy (equity returns for example) like everyone else. Would retirees be better off with higher interest rates and a shakier economy? They are related. Calling Fed policy RE: interest rates a "war on savers" is to deliberately miss el photo grande.
I think you are mixing up savers and retirees. A saver to me is somebody who achieves or maintain FI by spending a lot less than they earn. Because they are risk adverse, they put their money in safe simple investments, bank CDs or in the old days government savings bonds.
This board has a fair number of natural investors like myself, but very few pure savers like Obgyn and even hanging around this crowd convinced the guy to stick his toe in the investment world. We do have a lot of reluctant investors, people who would prefer to have a limited exposure to bonds, and even more limited exposure to stocks. But they'd rather retire early and to so they've become investors. But if CD were paying 7-8% and no one was predicting inflation over 3%,they'd move bulk of their money to CDs in a heartbeat.
Most Americans are spenders. But there is a large group of pure savers. Sure maybe they stick some money in index fund or target retirement fund in their 401K but that is only because they have been told they have to.
A booming stock market doesn't help savers practically at all. Even a good economy is of a limited value. As long as the economy isn't doing so bad that banks are failing and the FDIC fund solvency is threatened, or their job is in danger. They are much better off in a slow economy with no inflation or even deflation. This is especially true of retirees.
The war on savers has been so relentless, that many savers have capitulated and become investors. But they are awful investors, pouring money into overpriced bonds funds in the last few years. Like the chap who posted recently concerned that is Vanguard intermediate bond fund is dropping a a dime a day. Or my 77 year old friend, who thinks the stock market is a rigged casino, but desperate for something that would make more than 1% CD, bought gold at $1700.
For the working Saver, the war has been ugly, they are being force to spend less/save more and generally push out their retirement plans. It is probably even worse for the Saver retiree who depends on interest from CDs along with SS and possibly a pension. Not only have they seen their interest income drop by 75%, but the bonds fund, they just purchased are starting to get hammered.
Now smarter people than you and I have debated the efficacy of the Fed's policy. I think the Fed did a good job from 2008-2010, not sure about the last couple of years. I don't think the Fed is deliberately trying to screw savers. But savers have suffered such fearsome collateral damage as result of the Fed's policy that I don't think you can call it anything other than a war.
