The Dow has fallen 500 points in three of the past five trading days, which has had a major impact on a fund thousands of Georgians depend on.
The Georgia Teachers Retirement System Fund was worth $54 billion prior to the recent swings on Wall Street. 70 percent of that money is invested in stocks. As of the close of business Tuesday, that fund has lost more than $5 billion. The fund is now 6.5 percent for the fiscal year.
But Teachers Retirement System Executive Director Jeff Ezell the 90 thousand teachers receiving benefits should not panic.
"We are a long term investor by nature," Ezell told Channel 2 Action News. "We weather these ups and downs in the market."
Still, Carolyn Smith just retired from teaching and she is a little bit worried.
"With the state of the economy, what is my income going to be?" Smith said. "How is my lifestyle going to change?"
But Smith says she is confident the state has taken the necessary precautions to protect the fund.