Book Description

Sicker examines the realities and uncertainties the aging American work force will face in the employment environment of the 21st century in the light of the major restructuring of business operations and the world of work that has taken place in the final decades of the last century. ... Read more

Book Description

This book teaches affluent types how to turn retirement into a wonderful new life. Includes: travel, mentoring and volunteering, hobbies and collecting, et al. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

How to plan for, stay active through, and enjoy retirement
In Active Retirement For Affluent Workaholics: Planning For The Life You've Always Wanted, Peter Silton shows readers in their 50s through their 70s all about how to plan for, stay active through, and enjoy their retirement and the senior life they's always aspired to. Readers will learn how to do a rebirth (Kaneka), use money wisely (Wenjen); and begin a new life path (Ken-Tao); as well as keeping physically and emotionally fit; expand their hobbies and artistic pursuits; develop and maintain interests and relationships; control their finances and manage their estates. Here is practical, life enhancing advice on staying as active in retirement as when working with an earlier career, including travel, mentoring, volunteering, and enjoying what their affluence can accomplish in their behalf. Active Retirement For Affluent Workaholics is especially recommended for those seeking early retirement, or have had retirement thrust upon them because of workplace rules, health issues, or life-long ambitions which were deferred until their retirement years.

Well written and funny!
The book is a wonderful blueprint for a stage of life most of us ignore. It provides genuine hope that the active and restless among us do not need to fear retirement.

It demystifies the process of planning an active and enriched retirement life as a pragmatic and witty guide to living life and spending money (without guilt) and harnessing the computer as an extension of your life.

Offers sound, practical advice for baby-boomers. ... Read more

Book Description

Your Roadmap to Retirement is just that, a simple, yet compelling guide to insure that you aren’t still working the night shift in your 60s or even 70s.An entertaining and informative, full of common-sense guide that every investor should need. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A must read for every adult
Roadmap is a great primer for laying out your route to a comfortable retirement. It explains why you need to do this and how to figure what you will need. Its a fastread for those that have not yet gotten started on saving for this event. The emphasis is on sound investment not how to get rich quick. The book lays out the basic principles of financial planning,for developing a portfolio on your own, how to moderate risk for the long run, and how and where to seek and get aid. Roadmap does not profess to be an all you need book but helps the reader find additional sound advise and help. A must read for those in their 20's to 50's that have not gotten started in this essential process and also for those that are on their way but need a good conservative perspective.

Wish I'd read it 20 years ago
A simple, yet eye-opening guide, not only for your retirement, but for your finances in general. I only wish I'd read this years ago. If I'd used Steven's advice, I wouldn't be worried about how I was going to make my house payment ten years from now. Absoulte must reading for anyone who isn't a professional money manager, particularly for those of you in your 50s!! Two thumbs up for Your Roadmap To Retirement Riches. ... Read more

Book Description

Appropriate for those dealing with retirement issues and decisions, this tax guide is also ideal for those who are forced to retire early. It broaches unmentionables such as the taxation of social security benefits and the mysteries of Form 1099-R. The income woes of premature retirement are explained; the opportunities of retiring late are presented; and private medical savings are covered. Also detailed are distributions from IRAs, home equity conversion, and nonresident state returns. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Gloom and Doom
Although much of the information is now out of date, (published in 1995) the author is trying to emphasize the sad state of retirement planning among baby boomers.
-Your 401(k) and stocks are going to be in the dumper
-You will get little to no Social Security
-You will likely not have nearly enough pension money
-You'll probably have to work well past your anticipated "retirement age"
I believe that there will be ups and downs, but to preach this gloom and doom makes for very depressing reading. Those that have not been saving already know they're in for some hard times. Heck, if I were one who hadn't been saving for decades, I'd consider committing hara-kiri with a plastic butter knife after reading this.

A realistic wake-up call to the "Boomer" generation!
As a Financial & Retirement Planner for over 15 years, I can attest that Mr Karpel's book is a very realistic portrayal of financial things to come. This book should be required reading for both the "baby boomer" and "X'er" generations! ... Read more

Book Description

This book, written by a lawyer in simple everyday language, explains the whys and hows of planning your estate and making a will. A guide to probate and paying state and federal death taxes is included. ... Read more

Book Description

A collection of essays giving a humorous look at theauthor's experiences with retirement. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Marvelous series of humorous short stories about retirement.
I love this book because it made me laugh out loud!This gem of a book provides a gentle, self-deprecating portrait of the predictaments and perplexities of retired life as experienced by a once-powerful businessexecutive who now must contend among other things with the challenge ofironing his own shirts!A fun read.. and a wonderful gift for the newlyretired.

Wonderful and funny insights from an easy-going retiree.
Ever experienced a total change in life that needed to be accompanied with humor?This is a book that looks at retirement as a fun switch from the hurried singlemindedness of a career.From cleaning the porch to pianolessons Mr Hawley lets us feel how nice it is to settle into new yeteveryday lessons in life.These short stories add a new appreciation forthe simple things in life. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Unhelpful advice, from a selfish perspective
These two professors of paleo-ecology draw upon various scientific studies and projections of global warming, to portray the likely ecological changes in selected regions of the United States - primarily, the regions where the authors maintain their multiple residences. For more specific details about other areas, you're referred to a lot of web sites where you'll have to dig through the primary source materials for yourself.

Most of the actual advice has to do with real estate values, neglecting a host of other potential climate change impacts. For example, the financial advice (aside from real estate speculation) is limited to a few paragraphs stating the current conventional wisdom for investing in stocks and bonds. Apparently, the authors didn't even imagine the possibility that the economic consequences of climate change could inflict unprecedented damage on the financial markets. Similarly, while urging us to buy adequate home insurance against severe weather events, they don't consider the risk that insurance companies will go bankrupt from increased claims and be unable to pay.

Their "Top Ten Strategies" range from the ludicrous, to the merely impractical, to the downright immoral. Live on a houseboat, and when storms threaten, just weigh anchor and move somewhere else! Buy several different houses in different climate zones, as the authors did! (A majority of their suggestions seem to assume we're all independently wealthy.) Buy oceanfront property at bargain prices right after a devastating hurricane, build expensive homes on it, and sell to poor suckers who don't realize how soon the next hurricane is likely to hit!

Strategies for ameliorating the broad effects of global warming get little attention here. Instead, this book emphasizes securing material luxuries for oneself, and even takes delight in finding ways to profit from the destruction, at the expense of one's less fortunate neighbors.

Amusing Nonscience
The Delcourt's book is a hoot.

It is premised upon a recent publication known as the "U.S. National Assessment" on global warming. The backchatter about this document is astounding; it has been well-documented that the climate models which serve as its base actually perform worse than random numbers when applied to the US in the last several decades.

Further, the climate models that were used in this Assessment aren't even representative of most other models. I have read that Assessment, now available from Cambridge Press. It considered many models, but chose two--which, respectively, predict the most extreme departures in temperature and rainfall over the US, compared to the many others considered. Not only are the models that serve as the basis for the Delcourt's book bad, they aren't even representative!

I offer this notion to prospective purchasers of this book: either the Delcourt's knew this, and didn't tell you, which makes them deceptive, or they did not, which makes them incompetent.

I work for a major government climate lab, and I can tell you that this book is a typical global warming joke. Unfortunately, the political climate is so bad that we can't talk about this much in public. Too bad, because the planet is really warming a bit. Would like to see a more honest book here, which admits to warming and to the limits of our science. My little research on this shows the bestselling title under global warming has the weird title "Satanic Gases", but looks much more interesting. Maybe that's why people are buying it and not this silly book by the Delcourt Bobos.

Fascinating Eyeopener On Manifest Effects Of Global Warming!
This is a book that will be welcomed by millions of environmentally conscious readers concerned with the range of potential social, economic and political issues stemming from the profound effects of global warming. Many of us are already concerned with the ways in which we may potentially be affected both individually and as members of a society that will literally be forced to deal with the truly massive related dislocations and changes posed by the so-called "Greenhouse Effect" in the coming decades. The authors of this book have addressed themselves to a myriad of potential issues and a range of appropriate strategies for such factors as changes in weather patterns, economics, retirement possibilities, and other such phenomena related to the massive changes in climate that are associated with the Greenhouse Effect.

Thus, Paul and Hazel Delcourt, both paleo-ecologists teaching at the University of Tennessee, present the results of a massive three-year national study, The National Climate Assessment, by thousands of scientists to project the potential environmental changes in this country over the next hundred years. The authors then match the results of this massive work with a range of demographic studies that lead them to conclude that wide-ranging economic, political, and social change will result. Therefore, "Living Well In The Age Of Global Warming" provides the reader with a fascinating look at the range of possibilities that exist for one to "live well and prosper' in the radically changed ecological, social, and personal circumstances of a world undergoing radical and unavoidable change.

Indeed, while the serious reader may find fault with the authors' particulars in dealing with the range of alternatives available, one can hardly fault their central point, which is that the world will be radically changed both in terms of its climate and our potential cultural responses to those changes. Thus, whether discussing changing weather patterns (and the associated changes in storm tracks now predicted by many meteorologists) or exploring changes in temperature zones to the degree that millions may be forced to vacate areas like Georgia as they turn positively tropical, this is fascinating reading. They also discuss potential changes in forest cover, livable habitats, and many other related subjects. According to the authors, each of these factors will become increasingly important in determining the overall quality of life possibilities as global warming proceeds.

In essence, the authors have created an entertaining and informative book that openly discusses what the consequences of global warming may portend for each of us in practical and understandable terms, and in so doing they have rendered an important service to us all. While I admit that I did not like the "self-help to financial success" tone the prose sometimes degenerates into, I found myself so fascinated by other aspects of their careful thought that helped me to overcome any minor trepidation I had regarding the book. One can hardly argue with their central thesis; that the comfortable world we know is vanishing before our eyes, and that the shape of the one to come will be largely determined by the effects that global warming has on our society and our environment.

The book deals with a variety of different issue and a whole range of potential individual responses that the intelligent and savvy person can use to negotiate his or her way through the coming hardships. While I do not feel that this book is anything like the comprehensive "bible" activists need to carry on in the difficult days and years to come, it is certainly a provocative and thoughtful excursion into a subject matter few have dared to broach to date. Hopefully it provides us with just the opening salvo of what one prays will become both a national and international debate on what each of us needs to do to live more responsibally on the delicate skin of this, our living planet. I recommend it without hesitation; enjoy! ... Read more

Book Description

According to financial expert and author Terrence L. Reed, there are eight mistakes that he has seen with painful regularity in his years of practice as a financial advisor. These are: #1 Not investing for the long term #2 Taking on financial risk #3 Failing to do dignity planning #4 Not having good long-term care coverage #5 Not properly planning for estate transfer #6 Paying too much in taxes #7 Using the wrong investment strategies #8 Having the wrong type of life insurance

To fix these eight mistakes, follow the proven, commonsense strategies outlined in The 8 Biggest Mistakes People Make with Their Finances Before & After Retirement. Guiding readers how to live comfortably in retirement, the author suggests course corrections. He explains and illustrates how to protect retirement funds, safeguard financial security, provide for loved ones, use the best retirement funds distribution options, avoid excessive risk, minimize tax exposure, select low-cost investments with the highest potential returns, and invest for the future. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Refreashing
This book is very different from most other financial books in the sense that I was left with real life steps that should be taken. I felt I was more in control with my finacial picture. The book was fairly easy to read and I found very little fluff. I felt it was of help and I will use several of the strategies that Mr. Reed gives. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A must read for all women
After having read, Take Charge by Edie Milligan, a book about how women can understand and control their financial destiny, I am convinced that this is a must read for every young women over the age of 18.As Head of School of a PK - 12th Grade girls school, I know that the greatest concern parents have for their daughters is that of financial security and independence.In a straightforward, and uncomplicated way, Milligan creates a road map for even the most financially uninformed.It is a transformational work that should be on your gift list for every woman you know.Brava to Milligan for filling a niche in the financial literacy book market.We will all be stronger because of her good work.

Easy read, but indepth and practical..
Finally, a book that walks you through the process of determining your personal retirement needs - and it does it with humor and such campassion.I've been telling all my friends about it.

Finally
Finally!A women's book on finanace and retirement!Enough of the talking heads and "financial advisors".Edie Milligan spoke to me in a voice that is straightfoward and made planning for retirement and dealing with my financial future easier.She takes a subject that is huge and scary to most women and empowers you to tackle it and take it on.Edie guides you with compassion, understanding, and a little humor.You gotta get this book for financial piece-of-mind.I plan on sharing the wealth, I'm giving one to all my girlfriends for Christmas!

An excellent resource for women everywhere...
Take Charge is a very valuable resource for women who are planning for retirement. The author combines touching stories at the start of each chapter with the facts about financial planning.In three parts, the book illustrates the steps that need taken to achieve financial security. The book is easy to read and defines financial terms within each chapter. I am not a math person, but I found the tables and financial calculations to be very user-friendly. My husband is a financial planner and was just thrilled that I read this book. I recommend Take Charge to anyone who would like to be more knowledgable about their finances and how to prepare for retirement.Thank you Edie Milligan for your wisdom and insight! ... Read more

Book Description

Did you know that you need to look at your will, living will and powers of attorney at least every couple of years to make sure that they still reflect your current wishes and the current state of the law?Luckily, most people truly only need these three documents to ensure that their affairs are in order. And for most Americans, the simpler these documents are, the better. Wills, Living Wills and Powers of Attorney examines these three essential documents and provides forms everyone can use.

Classifying an individual into one of six categories based on whether he or she is married or not and whether he or she has adult children, minor children, or no children, this guide creates a plan based on an individual's needs. No additional legalese is added and no unnecessary trusts are created. The plan contains each of the three documents along with sample, completed forms and instructions for completing your own. All blank forms are available on the Mac/PC compatible CD-ROM. ... Read more

Book Description

Rolling Over--Retirement Investing in Uncertain Times is a perfect reference for the investor who wants to get a better understanding of the basics of retirement and estate planning.

Author Jerald L. Aloof brings over 18 years' experience in guiding investors through the oftentimes-complicated steps of establishing retirement plans, managing retirement assets and preparing for the distribution of these assets through effective estate planning.

In a detailed, though clearly written guide, Aloof highlights the areas that the retired and soon-to-be retired investor should focus on. Rolling Over--Retirement Investing in Uncertain Times covers a wide range of investing topics, including:

• The basics of investing
• Retirement planning
• The stretch IRA
• Estate planning
• Asset allocation

Book Description

A planning guide for seniors and their families, OLDTALK NEW CONVERSATIONS offers practical information about:

* How to begin talking about aging with those you love,
* Making decisions about the financial, legal, medical,and lifestyle issues that arise as a loved one grows older, and
*What issues to address now in order to ensure a comfortable and secure old age. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A truly "user friendly" planning guide
Old Talk: New Conversations is a truly "user friendly" planning guide for seniors and their families coming to grips with regard to making decisions stemming from the facts of aging upon the issues of medical care, finances, legal issues, and lifestyle matters. Five professionals present insightful and practical information and commentary that include chapters on Planning for a Financially Comfortable Retirement; Estate and Tax Planning; Long-Term Care Insurance: The New Financial Necessity; Getting the Care You Need When You Live at Home; and Choosing Your New Home: Retirement/Senior Housing. Old Talk: New Conversations is an invaluable, very highly recommended guide which ought to be a part of every community library, senior citizen center, and geriatric social services agency reference collection.

A great tool for approaching the topic with an aging parent
This is one of the best books I've seen in a long time. It's a very practical book that's written so anyone can understand it. It's a great way to introduce the subject of planning for the future with a parent (or an adult child).

excellent
I met the authors. They are nice people...and they know what they are talking about. They went out of their way to answer my questions. This book answers every question you could possible have about planning for your future. It rocks.

Great Book for Middle Aged and Older People
This is a book I found helpful in planning with my parents and in-laws. Financial, assisted living, long term care insurance and a host of other topics I have wanted to explore.

Great Help For Families
I found this book extremely helpful, especially the chapter on in-home services and the chapter on fianancial planning. I recommend it for the sandwich generation which is now helping their parents and still have responsbility for children. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Not much new here...
I read the first review and thought "whoopee"- I found it!. I was wrong.

If you haven't yet figured out to:
1) pay off your house
2) save more
3)spend less
4)work longer if necessary and
5) don't buy a NEW car, but a used one

then this is for you.

Otherwise I did not find anything I hadn't already seen elsewhere (mostly on the websites for AARP, Social Security, and CalPERS) or figured out on my own.

Simply the best book I've found yet on the subject.
I bought this book for a client who is retiring shortly. I have to say this is the best book I've found yet on this subject. It gives practical advice in a short, readable format. So many books claim to show you how, then give simply crummy, or at best questionable advice. There are no magic bullets. There are no shortcuts. As a financial planner I have read many so called 'self help' (more like self mutilation usually) books on the subject, and received many good laughs as a result. In a bull market anyone can swim, but when the tide goes out, we'll see who's swimming naked. This book gives you the information you'll need to prepare financially for the rest of your life. It does not tell you all of the answers (would you really want to read one tha claims to?) but it does lead you in the right direction toward finding them. I strongly reccomend this book to anyone planning to retire, be it 3 days or 30 years from now. You could spend much more, for much worse advice. Buy it, and get one for a friend. ... Read more

Book Description

How Social Security Picks Your Pocket exposes how Social Security is implemented - who wins, who loses, and how the game is played; and offers suggestions for improvements to the system.

Issue-by-issue, the book gives a guided tour of a system of staggering waste and blatant inequities.You’ll learn how average retirees are robbed of benefits – benefits that are redirected to wealthier, non-paying beneficiaries.You’ll learn about the millions of people who pay lip-service to Social Security – but pay nothing else.They don’t participate in the system described as their "worst nightmare."

The tour includes a visit with the teachers who become janitors for just one day, to qualify for $100,000 in Social Security benefits – each.The book also reviews the amazing 115% tax, inflicted on working seniors.Yes, these people can effectively pay more in tax than they earn.

The tour also includes the growing disability programs.Are you a hypochondriac?Good!You just may qualify for disability benefits. (Check out section 12.07 of the Social Security "Blue Book.")Did you know that one third of all workers getting disability benefits claim to have a mental impairment?Are you up on the latest designer diseases?And, did you realize that only one in every five hundred disabled workers recovers and returns to work – despite our miracle cures, technology, and "reasonable accommodations"?

You’ll need your "hard hat" when visiting Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which is a welfare program run by Social Security.It’s been classified by the GAO as "high risk" due to its habit of paying benefits first, and asking questions later (or never).SSI has its very own disability program, and should be in the Guinness book for once paying benefits to 181 members of one family – simultaneously.In this program, more than sixty percent of disabled beneficiaries are paid for claimed mental impairments.

Be advised that the tour includes some unsavory neighborhoods, rife with crime and corruption.There is a discussion of the different schemes and scams used to rip-off the system, and the new and threatening trends on the horizon.The Social Security Administration claims that it can’t estimate the amount of fraud in its programs.This book challenges that claim.

Of course, what Social Security tour would be complete without a discussion of insolvency, the trust fund, and Personal Retirement Accounts (PRAs)?Is the program really broke?Would PRAs help, or hurt?You’ll get the lowdown on these matters, plus insights into a great alternative plan that has been serving retirees longer than Social Security, right here in America.Comparing the benefits of this alternative plan to those of Social Security is an enlightening, if sobering, experience.

The final stop on the tour is the author's dream plan for Social Security.It’s a little different than any other proposal.Is it "Shangri-La" or Sham-ri-La?That’s for you to decide. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Generally, I liked this book
I was able to follow most of this book without too much trouble. The author has done a good job of quantifying the waste in SS. It's worth the read.

Read this book!
The author did a good job of showing why we need to update Social Security. Benefits are transferred illogically. Why give extra benefits to rich people at the expense of middle class workers? Also, the stuff about the Texas teacher scandal is infuriating. This rip off should be stopped! ... Read more