Retirement should feel liberating rather than terrifying. But when an egg-salad sandwich costs more than your first bicycle, the stock market is making like Tom Petty, and economists are bending themselves into pretzels to avoid saying the word “recession,” retirement can feel hazardous to your financial health.

In a perfect world, everyone would retire into a robust economy. But since we live in this world, there’s no way of knowing in advance if your timing is right.

Retiring during a downturn may not be ideal, but there are several ways to manage it. Here’s how you can survive and thrive if you retire when the market is tanking.

Know your retirement risks

There are two distinct risks facing you and your money if you retire during a down market.

The first is a timing risk. Market downturns typically coincide with economic downturns, which often leads to wide-scale job loss. Workers approaching retirement tend to be in their peak earning years, which can make them vulnerable to cost-cutting layoffs. Getting laid off just before retirement can be a bit of a one-two punch, since you may need to fund a longer retirement than you’d planned and your investments may have also taken a hit at the same time.

The second potential risk is the possibility of cashing out some of your retirement portfolio while the market is down. If you have to access some of your retirement funds before the market recovers, you make any portfolio losses permanent. That leaves you with less money to live on now and less money invested that can continue to grow.

Laugh in the face of risk