Savers with accounts like 401(k)s and I.R.A.s are required to make withdrawals starting at a certain age. Here’s how to handle that during an unpredictable stock market.

Shelby French of Lexington, Ky., is a lifelong saver who thought she was financially well-prepared for retirement. What she wasn’t counting on were market gyrations that sent her investments plunging by $60,000 over a three-day period this spring.

“I have my portfolio set to moderate risk; we haven’t changed a ton in the past few years,” she said — but the prospect of more market volatility has prompted her to rethink that approach.

Ms. French, 75, is of an age when the I.R.S. requires people with traditional, tax-deferred retirement accounts like 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts to draw down some of that money — and pay income tax on it or incur penalties. These required minimum distributions — frequently referred to by the abbreviation R.M.D.s —

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