What is a glide path and should my allocation shift as I age?

A glide path is a plan to gradually reduce stock exposure and add bonds as you approach the date you'll need the money, lowering risk right when a crash would hurt most. Target-date funds do this automatically — a 2055 fund might be 90% stocks today and drift toward 50–60% by retirement. The old rule of thumb was "110 minus your age" in stocks, though many now favor staying more aggressive given longer lifespans. The logic: early on you have decades and steady paychecks to recover from downturns, so growth matters most; near retirement, a big loss could force you to sell low while withdrawing. You don't have to shift sharply — a slow, steady glide avoids overreacting to markets. If you'd rather not manage it, a single target-date fund handles the glide path for you.