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Retirees Weather Stock Market Storms

By Jeff Neumeyer
June 18, 2010 Updated Oct 10, 2008 at 5:52 PM EST

FORT WAYNE, IN (Indiana's NewsCenter) --- Wage earners get nervous when they see the stock market lose altitude day after day.

It can be even tougher on retirees, who depend on investments as a primary source of income.

30 to 40 years of buying and selling stocks have taught Kent Phillips and Dr. Tom Pequignot of Fort Wayne to stay on an even keel about the ups and downs connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

But the events of the past month have proven this is not your father's stock market.

Phillips, a retired businessman, and Pequignot, who had a successful career as a dentist, are like everybody else; they wait to see where the bottom will be in this environment of steady declining stock values.

They aren't caught up in the panic that has prompted many investors to sell at a loss.

But Phillips admits it's hard not to be pre-occupied with the falling prices, and to lose some sleep over them.

Kent Phillips/Retiree Investor: " But I also know that if your money is in the right places, over the long haul you'll be fine. Everyone is so afraid. I'm not going to participate and I'm not going to be afraid with everybody else."

Dr. Pequignot has been buying some gold, and is waiting for prices to bottom out, so he can jump back in and get some real bargains during a rebound, if we see a rebound.

Market anxieties can be more intense for retirees, who no longer draw a paycheck.

The stock market can keep the money rolling in, which is why exasperation mounts when it's going down day after day.

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