<prompt> Human: It seems a lot of people had their retirement portfolio get hurt during 2008. Why is that? Is it because people were losing jobs and needed to withdraw money for their retirement 401k and Roth IRA accounts so that they could survive or are there other things that can hurt your 401k or Roth IRA that you have no control over?I know this is a stupid question and I think the answer is my first guess, but Id like to be aware of the risks associated with my retirement plans should 2008 come around again which seems statistically impossible to avoid in the 40 years I have before I hit retirementAssistant: Many people panicked when the stock market went down and sold their holdings, therefore locking in their losses.Human: But how would this affect their 401k. I could understand it affecting their Ira because it could be tired to their stocks.  <response>: I think you would benefit from reading the FAQ.IRAs, 401ks, etc. are types of accounts.The market affects specific investments within those accounts. You can hold stocks, bonds, etc. in any type of account. 