Time to Review Your Retirement Plan.

Saving for retirement is one of the most important financial challenges you face, and you want to make sure that your plan still fits your needs and circumstances. The Institute of Certified Financial Planners, Denver, Colo., suggests that you take some time now to review the following items:

Retirement goals. Have they changed since the last time you reviewed (or developed) your retirement plan? Do you still plan to retire at normal retirement age, or earlier or later? Many older people now see themselves working beyond normal retirement age, at least part time, out of either financial necessity or simply because they don't want to spend 20 years of retirement sitting in a rocking chair. Changes in your retirement timeline will make a lot of difference about how much you need to save and how you invest.

Personal changes. Have there been significant changes in your life that might affect your retirement objectives and strategies? For example, have you recently married or divorced, given birth or adopted a child, had children move out or finish college, had a death in the family, bought or sold a home, switched jobs, or had changes in family health? Depending on your circumstances, you may have more (or less) money to put toward retirement.

Your budget. Examine monthly spending to see if there isn't a way to free up more money to put toward retirement. Even bumping up your monthly contributions to a tax-deductible retirement plan by as little as two or three percent can make a tremendous difference over the years. For instance, if you contributed eight percent of your pay instead of six percent, you would have one-third more money in your retirement account after 40 years.

Your portfolio. Some of your stock investments may have changed the balance of your overall portfolio mix dramatically. Or you may be accumulating a lot of company stock, weighting your portfolio too heavily in that direction. Maybe you...