12-28-2018, 01:10 PM
(12-28-2018, 07:36 AM)ballsofsteel Wrote: So pat let me ax you this. The stock market goes up and down up and down for the next thirty years. When you retire and need to withdraw funds what if its down? You lose correct? So aren't you gambling that its up when you need it ? Isn't it like a 50/50 chance? Those aren't very good odds.
The closer you get to retirement the more you should shift your investments into bonds that have less growth but zero loss of principle.
Too many people fail to realize what a crap shoot the stock market is. It is true that if you are in your 30's and won't need the money until retirement you can ride it out. It took five years for the stock market to regain the losses from 2007-08.
But if you retire with plans to live off 5% per year of your savings and suddenly your savings are cut in half you are now using 10% per year. And since you are no longer "buying low" you don't have any way to make up those losses.
When you get within 5 years of retirement you should be almost exclusively in bonds instead of stocks.
