Everyone needs to rethink their retirement strategy in the new economy. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Smartest 401(k) Book You’ll Ever Read—a comprehensive, no-nonsense, and timely guide for retirement.
The book America needs now more than ever—a just-what-you-need-to-know guide to retirement financial planning written in a simple, straightforward, and easy-to-follow style. The book covers a wide range of concerns for retirees from investing during retirement, pensions, social security, withdrawals, annuities, reverse mortgages, estate planning, insurance, healthcare, and the impact of working during retirement.
"Reading this book is smart.
Solin's previous entries in this series were clever, breezy guides to navigating through the financial morass without getting hurt... This new book gets into the basics of investment in context with the present economic scene, so reading the earlier volumes doesn't mean that you won't get anything out of this one.
...Solin casts his wise eye and sharp pen on other important subjects like reverse mortgages, age of social security distribution, prenuptial agreements for seniors, options and implications of delaying retirement...
The best thing that Solin brings to the party is his shrewd and skeptical approach to the art and science of investing. ...there's no question that his focus is on what's best for individuals, not institutions.
Throughout, Solin writes clearly with style and humor but stays on topic and doesn't bloviate or pontificate excessively. He includes a number of charts and other tools to figure out what to do with your money so it grows into the amount you will need to live on for the rest of your days." --Richard Pachter, Miami Herald
"These two books are very different in format-Solin (The Smartest Investment Book You'll Ever Read) offers short chapters on a variety of retirement subjects, each concluding with a pithy summarization, while Jason (principal, Jackson, Grant Investment Advisers, Inc.) gives a more explanatory dissertation. But both are clearly written and easy to understand, tackling such topics as stocks, bonds, annuities, pensions, and cash withdrawal strategies (although Solin's book offers a handy section on care costs, Jason's does not). Jason's will be better for readers not as familiar with basic finance concepts, while Solin's may appeal to a more financially literate crowd." --Library Journal
It appears that people’s biggest concern is that they will outlive their money. Other than robbing a bank, do you have one suggestion that will help pretty well anyone?
While much depends how much people save and how smartly they invest before and during retirement, I recommend getting a fixed annuity (also known as an immediate annuity) from one of the low cost providers like Vanguard or TIAA-CREF. With an immediate annuity, you give the insurance company a lump sum and they give you monthly, quarterly or yearly checks for the rest of your life or longer, at your option.
Who can people rely on for advice about saving for retirement?
An advisor whose focus is on asset allocation (the division of a portfolio between stocks, bonds and cash) and who recommends investing only in a globally diversified portfolio of low cost stock and bond index funds. Sadly, the vast majority of traditional brokers and financial advisors would be disqualified from consideration based on these criteria.
Many people’s portfolios were decimated by the market crash and they don’t think they can now afford to retire. What should they do?
Hard times require hard decisions. There is no magic bullet – as some investors duped by the likes of Bernie Madoff will now attest. But anyone can dramatically boost their retirement nest egg by working an additional three or four years. One study showed that these added years of employment increased retirement income by a staggering 25%.
