What Will the Market Do in YOUR Retirement? (And What Should You Do About It?)

(don’t forget to checkout the video of this blog too)

When it comes to retirement planning, the market is the ultimate wild card.

Sure, we can make educated guesses about long-term returns.

Historically, markets trend upward over time.

But what happens during your retirement — over the 20 to 30 years you’re actually drawing income — can be incredibly unpredictable.

And that makes retirement income planning a much different challenge than simply planning for growth.

The Two Extremes: A Thought Exercise

Let’s look at two completely opposite scenarios just to highlight how much the market can impact your retirement:

✅ Scenario 1: The Market Goes Up for 30 Straight Years

If this happens, you’d be best positioned with a 100% stock portfolio.

Why?

Because stocks historically outperform all other asset classes over the long term.

That would maximize your income potential and leave the largest possible legacy for your heirs.

✅ Scenario 2: The Market Goes Down for 30 Straight Years

In this case, you’d want virtually zero market exposure.

Instead, you’d benefit from a portfolio built with CDs, bonds, and guaranteed income from annuities.

These tools protect your income regardless of market performance.

Of course, neither of these scenarios is likely.

The truth is somewhere in the middle.

But it highlights a crucial truth…

Timing Is Everything in the “Income Phase” of Retirement

Most people know about the accumulation phase — when you’re building wealth.

But once you retire, you enter the decumulation phase, or what I prefer to call the “income phase.”

And in this phase, the order of investment returns matters more than average returns.

That’s why managing risk becomes so important.

Not because you’re pessimistic about the market, but because the wrong timing (a bear market in early retirement) can do lasting damage to your portfolio and your lifestyle.

So What Should You Do?

Here’s my philosophy:

• ✅ You want a segment of your portfolio exposed to market growth — because that’s how you keep up with inflation and grow your legacy.
• ✅ You also want a segment protected from market downturns — because guaranteed income and stability provide peace-of-mind.

This isn’t an “either/or” conversation — it’s a both/and strategy.

Use insurance companies to provide income guarantees and safety.

Then, leverage your remaining assets for long-term growth in the market — at the right time and in the right proportion.

Because the goal isn’t to predict the market.

It’s to thrive no matter what the market does.