It's a daunting time for retirees, who face the biggest inflation threat, financial advisors say

cnbc.com:

Retirees and those planning to retire soon are the people most threatened by high inflation, investment managers and financial experts said at CNBC's Financial Advisor Summit.

Inflation means a dollar today can buy fewer groceries and other household staples than it did a year ago, on average.

Some inflation is expected in a healthy economy. But prices for consumer goods and services are rising at their fastest pace in 40 years. The torrid pace over the last several months has eroded household purchasing power more quickly than usual, which has been especially challenging for those living on fixed incomes.

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«The biggest risk is actually for those that are retired,» Nancy Davis, founder and managing partner of asset manager Quadratic Capital Management, said of inflation.

People who are working are still getting paychecks from their employer. Their wages grew 6.1% over the past year — the fastest annual pace in at least 25 years, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. (Their data dates to 1997.)

The job market has been hot, pushing businesses to raise pay. Though the average worker's wages haven't kept pace with inflation (which was 8.6% in the year through May), some have come out ahead.

But many retirees are no longer getting a paycheck — they're living on income from their investments (in 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts, for example) and regular checks from sources like Social Security, pensions and annuities.  

Relative to investments, retirees with ample cash are seeing the value of that stockpile decline faster than usual due to inflation and paltry interest rates — meaning they must withdraw more cash to fund their