US News recently made several good points in the following article: When You Do Everything Right But Your Retirement Plans Go Wrong
I would add that a financial plan should be reviewed on a regular basis regardless of what’s occurring in the market. The analogy we use is that a financial plan is similar to sailing a ship across the ocean. Throughout the journey, there are many course corrections along the way. It’s to be expected and the plan must be dynamic enough to adjust. In some cases, investors believe that a financial plan is static and that it never changes. It’s important to remember that a plan is good for only as long as the underlying assumptions remain valid. If inflation increases too much or if the markets are negative for an extended period of time or some other assumption changes, it may warrant a change in the plan.