---
title: Why the First Few Years of Retirement Are Crucial for Your Portfolio
description: This Kiplinger article explains how sequence of returns risk can be devastating to your retirement savings — and how to guard against this risk in the early years of retirement.
---

[XML Financial Group Blog ](https://info.xmlfg.com/blog)

# [Why the First Few Years of Retirement Are Crucial for Your Portfolio](https://info.xmlfg.com/blog/why-the-first-few-years-of-retirement-are-crucial-for-your-portfolio)

 Written by [XML Financial Group](https://info.xmlfg.com/blog/author/xml-financial-group) | May 11, 2021 2:00:00 PM

As the old saying goes, the secret to investing success is not timing the market, but *time in* the market. The longer your money stays invested and untouched, the better your odds of achieving solid long-term returns. But once you start withdrawing money in retirement, you could be exposed to “sequence of returns” risk.

If the market takes a downturn early in retirement, you are effectively losing money on both ends: the value of your portfolio is falling, and you are taking withdrawals. That means that even if the market recovers in the last five or ten years of your retirement, the dwindling balance will make it more difficult to achieve significant returns and fund your retirement. 

[Click here to read](https://www.kiplinger.com/retirement/retirement-planning/602481/the-first-few-years-of-retirement-can-make-or-break-your)

 

*This communication is for informational purposes only. No content or reference to a third-party article is intended to be a recommendation for the sale or investment in any product, strategy or service nor should it be perceived as individual advice. This commentary does not necessarily reflect the opinions of all employees or XML Financial Group and its affiliates (“XML”).  XML is not responsible for any actions taken related to this information.*

[View full post](https://info.xmlfg.com/blog/why-the-first-few-years-of-retirement-are-crucial-for-your-portfolio)

```json
{
  "@context" : "http://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "XML Financial Group"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2024-10-28T17:10:15.020Z",
  "datePublished" : "2021-05-11T14:00:00Z",
  "headline" : "Why the First Few Years of Retirement Are Crucial for Your Portfolio",
  "image" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "height" : 4211,
    "url" : "https://f.hubspotusercontent40.net/hubfs/8011892/pexels-cottonbro-6158658.jpg",
    "width" : 6316
  },
  "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://info.xmlfg.com/blog/why-the-first-few-years-of-retirement-are-crucial-for-your-portfolio",
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "height" : 60,
      "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png",
      "width" : 60
    },
    "name" : "XML Financial Group Blog"
  }
}
```