Question to the financial gurus here at DU (this is NOT asking for advice!!)

[Coventina]

Between the two of us, my husband and I have socked away a significant portion of our income over the years into our retirement accounts.

This is 100% my husband's doing, as I am not very good with money, I will admit that freely.
So, we have lived extremely frugally most of our adult lives, in the anticipation that SS would NOT be there when we retire (we are cynical GenXers).

I have been OK with this plan, as I grew up EXTREMELY poor (some of you might recall my threads as spending my years of 8-14 homeless). So living frugally is just what I know.

Now, as we approach retirement, my husband has been talking about our nest-egg, and proudly showing me our balances.
To which I say: "It's all theoretical money. It doesn't mean anything if the market crashes."

He vehemently disagrees and thinks I'm being silly.

I don't think it's silly at all.
That "money" doesn't become real until we withdraw it and spend it, right?

Is there something he knows that I don't about how the market works?

If it were me, I would withdraw it all at the first opportunity and put it all in savings.
But, I don't claim to be a financial genius.

So, rule on this disagreement: Are IRAs real money or not?