'Before you decide to change your retirement plans, take stock of where you are,' suggests David Koh, senior investment strategist in the Chief Investment Office for Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank. 'This has been a challenging environment for anyone approaching retirement,' he says. 'And if you find you aren’t where you need to be in terms of having adequate savings to meet your goals, you may need to look at what you could change.' That could mean adjusting what you expect to spend during retirement, revisiting the level of risk in your portfolio or even deciding to work a bit longer. Still, the current bond market offers potential advantages to those who are on the brink of retirement and need to generate substantial income, Koh says. 'You may want to make sure you have adequate exposure to investments that can help you do that,' he adds. 'But the most important thing now is to have an honest conversation with your financial advisor about the way forward.'