- Withdraw as little as possible from your investments. If your investments decline substantially when the market drops, reevaluate your withdrawal amounts. Withdrawing the same amount from a substantially smaller portfolio means you'll deplete the balance much sooner. If you must make the same withdrawals, at least calculate the impact on your current portfolio.
- Postpone retirement or go back to work. If you haven't retired yet, you may want to postponeretirement until your investments recover. While that may seem like a distasteful option, at least you won't have to worry about outliving your savings. Those who are already retired may want to consider going back to work on at least a part-time basis to avoid withdrawing too much from investments.
- Keep a reserve of three to five years of retirement expenses. That amount shouldn't be invested in the stock market. Then, you won't have to sell stock investments during market declines.
- Withdraw funds in a tax-efficient manner. That can add years to the life of your investments. In general, you should withdraw taxable investments first, so your tax-deferred investments can continue to grow on a tax-deferred basis. In most cases, however, you'll need to start taking minimum required distributions from your tax-deferred investments by age 70 1/2.
- Reassess your asset allocation. Stock market volatility can make you realize that your portfolio contains too much risk. Take steps to diversify.
- Consider using a professional to manage your investments. You may feel more comfortable allowing an investment professional make investment decisions for you, particularly in a volatile market.