SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The stock market drop Thursday has some people worried about their 401k.
Just a day after President Trump announced widespread tariffs, the stock market tumbled, with the DOW dropping 1,600 points, marking its worst session since 2020.
Keith Ballard taught at the Sweetwater Union High School District for nearly three decades before retiring a month ago. On Thursday, he was monitoring his investments closely.
Ballard says he will be okay financially, but he does have a good chunk of money invested. His plan was to continue investing monthly, but after Thursday, he is now planning to wait until the market stabilizes.
"I was going to start funding more money into my accounts so, probably, what I’ll do is wait," says Ballard.
University of San Diego economics professor Alan Gin says people shouldn't panic about their 401Ks.
"If you are a young person, you’ve got a long way to go in terms of your investment plans," says Gin.
However, if you're close to retirement and haven't moved your money to fixed income assets, Gin says you should start thinking about doing so quickly.
"You need to take some action then in terms of reducing your risk so you might be shifting more money from equities into fixed income assets," says Gin.
Now enjoying his first month of retirement, Ballard says he's worried about his former colleagues and other Americans who might not be as financially stable as he is.
"I feel sorry for a lot of my colleagues and for common Americans that don’t have the financial stability that I have, and I think we’re in for a rocky, long haul," says Ballard.
