Should a 70 year old get out of the stock market?

Written by Editorial Team | Last Updated: August 2026

For the vast majority of 70-year-olds, completely exiting the stock market is generally considered an overly conservative strategy that can introduce severe long-term financial risks, chief among them being the risk of outliving one's accumulated savings due to inflation. While conventional financial planning principles often recommend reducing overall portfolio volatility as people age by increasing allocations to fixed-income assets or cash equivalents, maintaining a moderate exposure to equities remains crucial for sustaining purchasing power over a retirement timeline that could easily span twenty to thirty years. Rather than panic-selling or completely liquidating stock holdings, financial advisors typically suggest rebalancing asset allocation to match individual risk tolerance, ensuring an adequate cash buffer for near-term expenses, and building a diversified portfolio designed to generate stable, long-term returns without subjecting the retiree to extreme market stress or sleepless nights.

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