The U.S. stock market has experienced major losses over the past week, following the announcement of steep U.S. tariffs. On April 9, the U.S. implemented a cumulative tariff of 104% on China, and they retaliated with an 84% tariff on U.S. goods.
At the end of the day on April 8, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 320.01 points and closed at 37,645.59, making its four-day loss more than 4,500 points. The S&P 500 was down 1.57% to end at 4,982.77. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed down 2.15%, ending the day at 15,267.91.
Many people depending on their 401(k) plans for retirement are understandably concerned.
Anthony Ogorek of Ogorek Wealth Management tells WGRZ that for anyone hoping to retire soon, "it's a very difficult time."
Ogorek has four words of advice for those worried about their 401(k)s: to "understand what you own."
In full context, Ogorek tells WGRZ, "The first piece of advice is you need to understand what you own. It's your life and it's incumbent upon you to take responsibility for that."
Ogorek adds, "You can't control external factors that are going on, but you sure can control what's going on in your own neck of the woods, which is your account."
For those hoping to retire soon, Ogorek says that you "can make allocation changes" and not get "hit with any taxes because you're in a tax deferred account."
For those in their 20s and 30s, he says to consider "putting money into a Roth 401(k) rather than a traditional," if you're in a "relatively low tax bracket." Any money you put into a Roth 401(k) will grow tax free, and when you take it out, it will also be tax free.
Those in their 40s and 50s are still in their "growth phase" and "if you were 100% in stocks, maybe you want to throttle that back to, you know, 70% 65% or 60%, something of that nature and your risk profile is going down," Ogorek tells the outlet.
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