Cortburg Speaks Retirement

How to Handle a Market Downturn in Retirement

• Miguel Gonzalez, MBA, AIF®, CPFA®, CRC® • Season 2025 • Episode 252

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Worried about market drops in retirement? In this episode, Miguel Gonzalez, CRC, explains how to protect your income, manage withdrawals, and stay on track when volatility hits.

Cortburg Retirement Advisors is a boutique financial planning firm committed to helping you grow, protect, and preserve your assets from your first job to retirement. We specialize in wealth management, estate and tax planning, group retirement, employee benefits, insurance, and retirement planning to navigate any economic climate.

Miguel Gonzalez, a Retirement Specialist with 20+ years of experience, offers expertise in retirement income planning, investment management, and retirement plan design. With an MBA from Columbia Business School, and professional experience with JP Morgan Chase, Merrill Lynch, and more, Miguel is a trusted advisor for his clients.


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Welcome to Cortburg Speaks Retirement Podcast
with Miguel Gonzalez, MBA, AIF®, CPFA®, CRC®

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Welcome to Cortburg Speaks Retirement

An audio podcast about investing in the stock market, financial planning, money management and retirement planning.  Each Wednesday, we help investors at all stages of life learn how to potentially grow and preserve their money from first job through retirement.

Now here is your host, Miguel Gonzalez.

Good morning and welcome to the CORTBURG SPEAKS RETIREMENT audio podcast.   

This week, we’re tackling an issue that can cause anxiety for many retirees:

What do you do when the market drops—and you’re already retired?

When you’re still working, a market downturn can feel like a temporary setback. You have time to recover, keep contributing, and ride out the storm.

But in retirement, the game changes. You’re no longer adding to your accounts—you’re withdrawing. And pulling money from investments when they’re down can do lasting damage to your portfolio.

Let’s talk about how to weather a market downturn without derailing your retirement.

1. Avoid Panic Selling

One of the worst things you can do in a down market is sell out of fear.

Yes, volatility is stressful. But if you move to cash after a drop, you lock in losses—and risk missing the recovery. Remember, some of the best market days tend to follow the worst ones.

A long-term retirement plan should already include some level of market fluctuation. Your investment mix should reflect your time horizon and risk tolerance. The key is sticking to the plan—not reacting emotionally.

2. Use a Bucket Strategy

A bucket strategy divides your assets into three categories:

  • Bucket 1: Cash and short-term needs (1–2 years)
  • Bucket 2: Bonds and income-generating investments (3–5 years)
  • Bucket 3: Stocks and long-term growth (6+ years)

This allows you to fund your current lifestyle without selling stocks during a downturn. Instead, you can draw from safer buckets while your long-term investments recover.

3. Revisit Your Withdrawal Rate

In a down market, it may be wise to reduce your withdrawal rate—temporarily.

For example, if you’re following the 4% rule, you might drop to 3% or take only what’s absolutely necessary until the market stabilizes.

Even small adjustments can give your portfolio more breathing room and reduce long-term damage.

If you’re not sure how to make this work, a financial advisor can run scenario models to see how different choices affect your future.

4. Consider Alternative Income Sources

Do you have other sources of income that can help you ride out the storm?

This might include:

  • Part-time work or consulting
  • Rental income
  • Delaying Social Security to boost future benefits
  • Drawing from a cash reserve or Roth account

Tapping the right accounts in the right order during a downturn can help protect your more vulnerable assets.

5. Stay on Top of Rebalancing

Market drops often throw your asset allocation out of alignment. Stocks may shrink as a percentage of your portfolio, while bonds or cash grow larger.

Rebalancing—selling some of the overperforming assets and buying into undervalued ones—can help you stick to your strategy and even take advantage of market dips.

This is where professional oversight can make a big difference—especially when emotions are high.

6. Focus on What You Can Control

You can’t control the markets. But you can control:

  • How much you spend
  • How much you withdraw
  • Where your withdrawals come from
  • How your portfolio is allocated

Having a plan, staying flexible, and working with a financial advisor can help turn uncertainty into opportunity—even during volatile times.

In Closing

Market downturns are inevitable—but they don’t have to be devastating.

With the right strategy in place, you help manage risk to your income, stay calm during turbulence, and keep your retirement goals on track.

This is Miguel Gonzalez, Certified Retirement Counselor (CRC) and Managing Partner, with Cortburg Retirement Advisors signing off for this week’s educational podcast.  

 

DISCLOSURES  

CRC conferred by The International Foundation for Retirement Education.


 Securities offered through LPL Financial. Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advice offered through Private Advisor Group, LLC, a registered investment advisor.
 
 

Private Advisor Group, LLC and Cortburg Retirement Advisors, Inc. are separate entities from LPL Financial.
 
 

The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
 
 

All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however, LPL Financial makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy.


 Rebalancing a portfolio may cause investors to incur tax liabilities and/or transaction costs and does not assure a profit or protect against a loss.

 Asset allocation does not ensure a profit or protect against a loss. 

Investing includes risks, including fluctuating prices and loss of principal. No strategy assures success or protects against loss.

 

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Miguel Gonzalez, MBA, AIF®, CPFA®, PPC®, CRC®

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