By Meghan Streit

Recent volatility on Wall Street has a lot of older Americans feeling anxious about retirement. Reading the morning paper may make you consider stashing cash under your mattress.

But panicking won’t recoup your investments. We rounded up a handful of financial experts to shed some light on what you can do to stay on top during economic downturns.

If you’re in your 50s or 60s . . .
Time is on your side. Remember the crash of October 1987? The tech bubble that burst in 2001? Although no one can predict precisely when it will happen, most financial experts agree that the stock market will recover. Veteran Washington Post financial columnist and author of How to Retire Happy, Stan Hinden says the Dow Jones Industrial Average has generally trended upward over the last century.

"In the short term, markets fluctuate, but in the long term, they keep going up," Hinden says, "and it is very hard to argue with history."

Hinden says people in their 50s and 60s may want to consider delaying retirement for a few years, by which time 401(k) balances should improve. He also recommends delaying Social Security payments because they are discounted less as you age.

Colorado Allstate agent Roger Francis says that if you don’t already have a personal financial advisor, you should get one now. Francis says no matter the size of your nest egg, today’s uncertain economy means you need guidance to protect it.

"So many people in their 50s and 60s have 401(k) plans and are preparing to retire, but your company’s 401(k) planner is not going to give you advice on where to put your money or how to withdraw it," Francis says.

If you’re in your 70s or 80s . . .
Scott Munkvold, a principal at Chicago-based Financial Solutions Advisory Group Inc., says the "general rule is that as you get older, your investments should get more conservative."