Do you have your retirement in the Government's Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)? If so, here's a method to move your funds in and out, subject to the 2x per month criteria, so that you don't get slammed the next time the market decides to go south. I use a system that I've developed to time this system to prevent major drawdowns while having fairly good yearly returns. I manage my wife's TSP fund with this technique, so it's for real.