Everyone should take a few moments to review or create their Retirement Roadmap during National Save for Retirement Week, says Mark Singer CFP^®. National Save for Retirement Week takes place from October 21–27, 2012.

A Retirement Roadmap is a planning system that transitions your financial life from the accumulation stage (the working years) to the distribution stage (the retirement years). It takes the mystery out of financial planning by answering the question "Can I do this, and do it when and how I want to?" The Retirement Roadmap helps you navigate the deeper waters of retirement.

Your Retirement Roadmap involves more than just thinking about how much money you need in your 401(k) or IRA—it also involves looking closely at your emotions, hopes and dreams. When creating your Retirement Roadmap, keep the following tips in mind:

• Create retirement goals: If you don't set clear and definable goals, the probability of your having a successful journey into retirement is reduce.
• Reduce the impact of taxes: Investments are just one part of retirement planning. If you don't take steps to minimize the impact of taxes, you'll have less money available to enjoy your retirement.
• Coordinate your needs: In addition to saving, you also need to think in a coordinated way about all the elements that go into creating a successful retirement, including your investment portfolio, life insurance, long-term care needs and more.
• Take emotions into account: If you understand how your emotions affect your financial behavior, you'll be more likely to control your feelings and make decisions that are in line with your overall objectives.
• Understand the transition into retirement: When you retire, you transition into a new stage of life, and this is a change that many people are not prepared for. Instead of just thinking about how nice it will be to not have to go to work every day, consider what you'll actually do with your time.
• Redefine your objectives: As you get closer to retirement, you may find that you need to redefine your objectives so that they fit with your current reality. Your Retirement Roadmap needs to be flexible enough to adapt to your changing circumstances.

Mark Singer urges everyone to create a Retirement Roadmap during this year's National Save for Retirement Week, since without a map, you may be headed in the wrong direction when it comes to planning and saving for retirement.

Mark Singer is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional and the author of The Changing Landscape of Retirement—What You Don't Know Could Hurt You. He has been The Retirement Guide to thousands of investors for close to 25 years and is the creator of the Retirement Roadmap and the Financial Organizer System, both of which contribute to a solution to investors' greatest concerns—properly coordinating their financial affairs.