Review: The Essential Guide for the New Age of Retirement

The Essential Guide For The New Age of Retirement- Why The Rules Have

About the Book:

Roughly 10,000 Americans will turn age 65 every day for the next fifteen years. This massive demographic shift is not only reshaping the economy but the way these same Americans will enjoy retirement. Because of this shift, many standard financial theories and practices that have worked in the past will not work as well, if at all, in the future. Every retiree and future retiree will be affected by this change. If they prepare adequately, they can adapt. Otherwise, they will become unwitting victims of forces beyond their control.

This book identifies the main cause of this shift and presents groundbreaking strategies to help individuals navigate the maze of investment, tax, and income planning options for a more predictable and comfortable life in the "new age of retirement".

My Comments:

This is a short and easy to read book that is part primer on retirement planning and part advertisment for hiring a professional financial planner.  The author's main thesis is that the retirement of the baby boomers and their resultant loss of income and slowed spending is going to cause ripple effects throughout the economy and will cause problems with traditional retirment planning strategies.  He discusses asset allocation and how human nature makes people sell stocks at the wrong time, locking in losses for life, whereas those who held on eventually would be made whole and then some.  Over and over Overson recommends putting your assets in the care of a professional financial planner who has both objectivity and expertise.  Evidently he and my financial advisor have been to the same classes because pretty much everything he discussed are things we have discussed with our planner.  The only "groundbreaking strategy" that stuck in my mind after reading this book was to hire an advisor--everything else sounded pretty tried and true and discussed in most financial planning books.

I'd like to thank the author for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  If you are looking for a reason to hire a financial planner, this book will convince you that you are doing the right thing.  If you are looking for a comprehensive book to help you do your own financial planning, there are better ones out there.  Grade:  B-