If you are afraid to even touch your individual retirement account, just know that you are not alone.

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Some old people have a problem with retiring without a lot of savings. However, even if you have your individual retirement account, this still does not necessarily mean that you are all set for your retirement. If you are afraid to raid your individual retirement account, here is what you should do.

According to the Motley Fool, the reason as to why you might not be set for your retirement, is because after spending decades of growing your nest, the idea of spending down may be terrifying for you. Whether you will be retiring with a million dollars or a hundred thousand, you may be worried that you will run out in no time.

A study in the Journal of Personal Finance found that 50% of retirees are brought discomfort to the idea of declining retirement portfolio balance, even if the money was being spent for the intended purpose.

At some point, you might be forced to rake withdrawals from your savings in the form of required minimum distributions, so it might be good for you to get used to the idea. However, that does not mean that you can’t take steps to alleviate your fears.

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You do not want to let that hard earned money to just sit around and do nothing for you right? Here are a few things that you can do if you ever are worried to touch your individual retirement account.

1. Work with a financial adviser to come up with safe withdrawal rates. Say that you have saved up a large chunk of money in your individual retirement account, you may need to last 30 years with that so it is important to take withdrawals very carefully. A financial adviser could help you look into your savings to help you determine how much of your individual retirement account should be withdrawn each year.

2. Work part time to limit your withdrawals. Working part time during your retirement could be possible to stretch your individual retirement account. A job can serve as an outlet and a means to stay busy without you spending your individual retirement account.

3. Pay attention to the market. The optimal time to take withdrawals from your individual retirement account is when the stock market is up. Taking your withdrawals when the value of investments are down could lead to a loss in your portfolio. Sometimes, retirees have no choice but to touch their individual retirement account when the market is going through rough things, however, if you can time your withdrawals to when the portfolio is up, you are apt to stretch that saving.

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