We know that the recent volatility in the market has many individuals close to retirement worried about the future. With this in mind, we thought it would be helpful for us to write a note of reassurance as well as a few pieces of advice.

First of all, it’s important to keep in mind that you created a retirement plan designed to get you through many, many years of economic need. A good retirement plan will always factor in the fact that markets rise and fall with regularity. That said, those with retirement plans have more confidence when navigating market ups and downs.

There are, however, some general steps Americans approaching retirement may want to consider:

Confirm your liquid assets. If you have enough cash reserves on hand for the moment, you may not need to worry about cashing out during the downturn quite yet.

Consider your taxes. There are a number of ways to optimize your tax reporting especially when it comes to converting assets (like, in some cases, rolling a traditional IRA over into a Roth IRA).*

Evaluate your expenses. If you’re able to define your exact spending needs, you might find you can do with less to start out with as you embark on your retirement.

Bide your time. Retirement can be attractive, but staving it off for a year or two more while the market readjusts could mean better financial confidence for some in the long term.

With that said, if you’re concerned about retirement, we are happy to meet to discuss my specific recommendations based on your unique financial situation. But please rest assured, it is still possible to retire during a recession–and we will be here for you every step of the way during this period of economic volatility.