 For your $50,000 to become $100,000 again, you need a 200% gain. The second problem is the time it takes to make back that loss, whether you can even make it back at all. A third problem is even more devastating. What if you are pulling money from your retirement accounts while they are taking losses? Taking RMDs or other funds out of your retirement to live off of, it can make it almost impossible to regain what you lost. Your money cannot be working for you if you're losing.