. >> i'm sara carnes. we will check in with retirement and financial expert bill smith. he is president of w.a. smith financial group and he is standing by in his retirement solutions studio with his retirement tip. >> we have been hearing about interest rates and how rising interest rates may affect the economy and stock markets. the federal open market committee has been keeping the federal funds rate near zero in an effort to make money more he is simply attainable and cheaper to borrow. the rising of interest rates generally indicates that the economy is on a stronger found days. a stronger economy shows both aspects of a rising interest rate environment. so, in a nutshell, we need the interest rates to rise because the economy needs to be on a much more stable foundation without assistance from the government. an interest rate hike would help safers by way of making more interest on savings vehicles such as c.d.s, money market accounts and certain bank accounts and makes money harder to borrow or more expensive and rising interest rates may cause increased volatilit