General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Do you have 1 million saved for retirement? May not be enough. [View all]Squinch
(59,638 posts)For example, I have an IRA to which I don't contribute any more because I have a work based retirement program that is a better return on my money.
In that IRA, say I have 100K. If the market crashes and I lose 50%, I now have 50K. The market rebounds, and that fund rises up that same 50% that was lost. But now I am adding 50% to the 50K. In the end, when the market rebounds completely, I have $75K instead of my 100K. The market has to rise by twice as much as it fell for me to be made whole. So there are real and significant losses.
Dollar cost averaging only works if you are still contributing to that particular fund. There are many reasons why people stop contributing to a given fund.
And don't look now, but you won't be dollar cost averaging when you are living on that IRA. So if a crash comes around when you have retired, look out.