Should You Delay Retirement Due to Stock Market Volatility?

The past couple of weeks have been a roller-coaster ride for investors, with the stock market clocking in record single-day losses and officially hitting bear market territory. If you're years away from touching the money you have in stocks, the smartest thing you can do right now is sit back, wait for things to stabilize, and leave your investments alone. But if you're planning to retire in the very near future, that may not be an option.

So should you delay retirement in light of recent market volatility? You probably should -- but that's not the whole story.

If you're planning to retire in a year or two from now, don't panic -- despite the massive downturn we're in the midst of, that gives the stock market some time to recover from recent events. As long as that milestone is at least a year away, keep tabs on the market -- but don't assume your plans are off or need to change all that much just yet. On the other hand, older workers who are planning to retire in the next six months, or at some point in 2020, have more to think about. If you're one of them, your best move may be to postpone retirement until the market does a better job of settling down and portfolio values recover. But that may not throw your plans so far off course.

Source Fool.com