What to Do When the Market Gets Volatile (And What to Avoid)

As of March 13, 2026, the S&P 500 has shed approximately 350 points from its recent peak, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen roughly 3,450 points from its 2026 high. Your phone buzzes with alerts. A family member texts you a scary headline. And suddenly, a retirement you’ve been planning for 30 years feels like it could disappear overnight.

Sound familiar?

Market volatility is one of the most stressful experiences for anyone approaching retirement. And the decisions you make in those moments — often emotional, often rushed — can have consequences that last decades.

Here’s what to actually do.

Step 1: Don’t Look at Your Balance Every Day

This sounds simple, but it’s harder than it sounds. Checking your portfolio obsessively during a volatile market doesn’t give you better information — it just gives you more stress. Studies show that investors who check their portfolios daily are far more likely to make reactive, emotion-driven decisions they later regret.

What to do instead: Set a calendar reminder to review your portfolio once a week at most during turbulent stretches. Give yourself permission to step back.

Step 2: Revisit Your Plan — Not Your Emotions

When the market drops, most people ask: “Should I sell?”

That’s the wrong question.

The right question is: “Has anything about my actual plan changed?”

If you’re 58 years old with $900,000 saved, a clear retirement date, and a diversified portfolio built for your timeline — a market correction doesn’t change any of that. The numbers on the screen changed. Your plan didn’t.

Pull out your financial plan. Look at your timeline, your income needs, your withdrawal strategy. If those haven’t changed, you have your answer.

Step 3: Check Your Cash Buffer

Here’s a practical step most people overlook: make sure you have enough cash or short-term, stable assets to cover your near-term needs without having to sell investments at a loss.

If you’re already retired, this means having 1–2 years of expenses in cash or equivalents. That way, a market downturn doesn’t force your hand. You can wait for the market to recover before drawing on your investments.

If you’re still working, the same logic applies to your emergency fund. Markets go down. Life doesn’t pause. Having that cushion is what lets you stay the course.

Step 4: Rebalance — Don’t Retreat

When stocks drop significantly, your portfolio’s allocation shifts. A portfolio that was 60% stocks and 40% bonds might now look like 50/50 — meaning you’re actually holding less risk than you planned.

This is often the right time to rebalance, which means buying more of what’s dropped to get back to your target allocation. This is the opposite of what feels natural. But it’s what disciplined investors do.

Rebalancing isn’t about being fearless. It’s about being systematic.

Step 5: Tune Out the Noise

Cable news, financial pundits, that colleague who’s convinced the market is about to crash permanently — none of them know what the market is going to do next week. No one does.

What history consistently shows: the market has recovered from every downturn in modern history. The 2008 financial crisis. The dot-com crash. The COVID collapse of 2020. Every single time, investors who stayed the course came out ahead of those who panicked and sold.

Volatility is not a signal to exit. It’s a normal part of investing.

Step 6: Talk to Someone Before You Do Anything

If you’re feeling the urge to make a big change — move everything to cash, sell off your stocks, dramatically shift your strategy — pause and talk to a financial professional first.

Not because you can’t make your own decisions. But because the best time to stress-test your thinking is before you act, not after.

A good advisor helps you separate what feels scary from what’s actually risky for your specific situation.

Market volatility is uncomfortable. But it’s not the enemy of your retirement — panic is.

The investors who build real long-term wealth aren’t the ones who perfectly time the market. They’re the ones who have a solid plan, stay calm when others don’t, and make thoughtful decisions instead of reactive ones.

If you’re within 10 years of retirement and feeling uneasy about market swings, it may be worth reviewing your plan to make sure your portfolio is actually aligned with your timeline — not just the average investor’s.

Disclaimer: This article is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute investment, tax, legal, or insurance advice. Any strategies discussed may not be suitable for every individual and may involve risks, including the possible loss of principal. Please consult your financial advisor, tax professional, and/or attorney regarding your specific situation before making any financial decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.