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Control Your Retirement Destiny: Achieving Financial Security Before the Big Transition
"It is a rare pleasure to read a book on personal finance with which I agree completely. Dana Anspach has produced one. I am usually turned off by the chapter on investing, which is typically false and misleading. Investing should always start from the safest strategy to achieve one's goals. Dana Anspach gets it right and expresses it in entertaining prose that anyone can understand and enjoy."
Zvi Bodie, Professor of Economics, Boston University
People in their fifties start to wonder: When should I retire? Once I do, when should I take Social Security? Do I need to buy an annuity to make sure I have enough money to last my whole life? Should I move everything into Treasury Bills and other safe investments? In short, what do I need to do now to ensure a comfortable retirement in five or ten years?
Control Your Retirement Destiny: Achieving Financial Security Before the Big Transition provides practical, how-to knowledge on what you need to do to get your finances in order to prepare for a transition out of the workforce. While never easy, retirement investing in your 20s to your early 50s has been straightforward. But as you get closer to the big eventretirementit takes a different kind of planning to align investments, retirement accounts, taxes, Social Security, and pension decisions, all for a single objective: providing reliable, life-long income.Control Your Retirement Destiny teaches you how each part works, how one decision affects another, and--most importantly--how to focus on the items you can control rather than on the items you can't. When you put it all together in a plan that works for you, you'll have more choices and a greater sense of security about the financial decisions you are making.
Transitioning out of work is scary. Control Your Retirement Destiny equips you with the knowledge you'll need to make sure you've thought of everything. When your finances and your future intersect, you'll be ready. This book: Covers all the major topics in retirement planninginvestments, Social Security, annuities, taxes, healthcare, part-time work, and more. Illustrates which items you can control, and how to focus on them. Provides examples of how planning decisions can result in a more secure outcome when they are coordinated. Provides actionable knowledge about important money decisions faced by upcoming retirees. Control Your Retirement Destiny enables you to take charge of your financial future right now to ensure a happy, financially secure retirement. What you'll learnYouwill be able to: Apply an improved and coordinated process to make betterfinancial decisions Focus on items within your control like tax management, risk management, and developing and sticking with a plan Determine how much investment risk you should take Decide if you need guaranteed income, and if so, how to buy it Choose investments that are best suited to meet your future income needs Avoid big retirement planning mistakes Find sources of reliable information Who this book is for
Control Your Retirement Destiny: Achieving Financial Security Before the Big Transition is for men and women who are 50-plus, have money in 401(k)s and IRAs and other assets, and are beginning to think about when and how they might transition out of regular, full-time work. They are wondering when to start Social Security, how to choose investments that will provide security, how to account for medical costs and taxes in retirement, and most importantly, how to put all of these things together into a plan that ensures financial security. Readers will be in the top 50% of the population in terms of income and assets, age 50+, do-it-yourself investors, index investors, or investors who aren't getting the answers they need from their current broker, advisor, or mutual fund company. "
Zvi Bodie, Professor of Economics, Boston University
People in their fifties start to wonder: When should I retire? Once I do, when should I take Social Security? Do I need to buy an annuity to make sure I have enough money to last my whole life? Should I move everything into Treasury Bills and other safe investments? In short, what do I need to do now to ensure a comfortable retirement in five or ten years?
Control Your Retirement Destiny: Achieving Financial Security Before the Big Transition provides practical, how-to knowledge on what you need to do to get your finances in order to prepare for a transition out of the workforce. While never easy, retirement investing in your 20s to your early 50s has been straightforward. But as you get closer to the big eventretirementit takes a different kind of planning to align investments, retirement accounts, taxes, Social Security, and pension decisions, all for a single objective: providing reliable, life-long income.Control Your Retirement Destiny teaches you how each part works, how one decision affects another, and--most importantly--how to focus on the items you can control rather than on the items you can't. When you put it all together in a plan that works for you, you'll have more choices and a greater sense of security about the financial decisions you are making.
Transitioning out of work is scary. Control Your Retirement Destiny equips you with the knowledge you'll need to make sure you've thought of everything. When your finances and your future intersect, you'll be ready. This book: Covers all the major topics in retirement planninginvestments, Social Security, annuities, taxes, healthcare, part-time work, and more. Illustrates which items you can control, and how to focus on them. Provides examples of how planning decisions can result in a more secure outcome when they are coordinated. Provides actionable knowledge about important money decisions faced by upcoming retirees. Control Your Retirement Destiny enables you to take charge of your financial future right now to ensure a happy, financially secure retirement. What you'll learnYouwill be able to: Apply an improved and coordinated process to make betterfinancial decisions Focus on items within your control like tax management, risk management, and developing and sticking with a plan Determine how much investment risk you should take Decide if you need guaranteed income, and if so, how to buy it Choose investments that are best suited to meet your future income needs Avoid big retirement planning mistakes Find sources of reliable information Who this book is for
Control Your Retirement Destiny: Achieving Financial Security Before the Big Transition is for men and women who are 50-plus, have money in 401(k)s and IRAs and other assets, and are beginning to think about when and how they might transition out of regular, full-time work. They are wondering when to start Social Security, how to choose investments that will provide security, how to account for medical costs and taxes in retirement, and most importantly, how to put all of these things together into a plan that ensures financial security. Readers will be in the top 50% of the population in terms of income and assets, age 50+, do-it-yourself investors, index investors, or investors who aren't getting the answers they need from their current broker, advisor, or mutual fund company. "
328 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 29, 2014
very detailed analysis of many specific issues related to the title subject -- when and how to take social security, the "parts" of Medicare, long-term care insurance pros/cons, tax planning, etc. etc. As far as I can tell, sound input and sensible, but I did have two small concerns:
1. she's a fairly dry writer. Makes good use of examples from her financial advisor files to illustrate points, but overall a bit tedious. In the chapter on annuities for instance, a section titled "indexed annuities" begins with:
"An indexed annuity is a type of fixed annuity that is often called a 'fixed indexed annuity' (FIA) or an 'equity-indexed annuity'"
If this makes you want to dive right in and read more, then you'll find this book smooth sailing.
2. Particularly toward the end, it almost seemed a diabolically clever ad for her advising practice. There are several sequences with approximately this structure:
(a) topic introduced
(b) topic made to seem tremendously complicated
(c) high cost of getting it wrong illustrated
(d) "your mileage may vary" reiterated
(e) so it may make sense to seek professional help with this one from a fee-only planner like, as it happens, me
It's not the smarmy upsell of the bogus self-help guru (for the real insights, please sign up for my monthly newsletter or come to my weekend retreat!), but I did wonder if a few of the issues could have been laid out more simply and conclusively if she were writing without the "you could always take it to an advisor" option in mind.
1. she's a fairly dry writer. Makes good use of examples from her financial advisor files to illustrate points, but overall a bit tedious. In the chapter on annuities for instance, a section titled "indexed annuities" begins with:
"An indexed annuity is a type of fixed annuity that is often called a 'fixed indexed annuity' (FIA) or an 'equity-indexed annuity'"
If this makes you want to dive right in and read more, then you'll find this book smooth sailing.
2. Particularly toward the end, it almost seemed a diabolically clever ad for her advising practice. There are several sequences with approximately this structure:
(a) topic introduced
(b) topic made to seem tremendously complicated
(c) high cost of getting it wrong illustrated
(d) "your mileage may vary" reiterated
(e) so it may make sense to seek professional help with this one from a fee-only planner like, as it happens, me
It's not the smarmy upsell of the bogus self-help guru (for the real insights, please sign up for my monthly newsletter or come to my weekend retreat!), but I did wonder if a few of the issues could have been laid out more simply and conclusively if she were writing without the "you could always take it to an advisor" option in mind.
June 5, 2018
Very helpful book that covers all the aspects of the subject (saving, investing, insurance, planning) with good examples. I think this book goes the extra step over other books in the same genre by providing a very clear understanding of the effect of taxes on income over time and the importance of including various techniques in one's planning to minimize taxes if at all possible.
I borrowed this book from the library, but will be one of the few that I purchase to keep on my shelf for reference for the next dozen+ plus years I have to keep my retirement planning up to date before retirement.
I borrowed this book from the library, but will be one of the few that I purchase to keep on my shelf for reference for the next dozen+ plus years I have to keep my retirement planning up to date before retirement.
August 9, 2018
I was hoping for more information on early retirement, but as that was not the goal of the book I can't fault it for the omission. The year-to-year planning charts were helpful as were some of the investing ideas and risk planning.
April 13, 2019
Comprehensive and informative
Excellent resource for retirement planning. Covers the waterfront of financial issues and situations. Not a sales brochure for annuities or insurance as so many retirement books are.
Excellent resource for retirement planning. Covers the waterfront of financial issues and situations. Not a sales brochure for annuities or insurance as so many retirement books are.
February 6, 2019
I highly recommend for anyone near retirement - interesting content on tax planning for retirement etc. Will re-read and use the recommended calculators.
January 15, 2020
Good! A little out of date, but thorough.
March 6, 2021
Ready to retire!
December 17, 2023
3 stars for some good info in there if you read it all the way through. There are better books with the objective of actually giving you all the info and a lot less advertising for her services (or to use the software or systems that she uses).
Some topics are discussed were you can tell she got all the info from another book, which she names, and which I have already read. That other book is a much better source for good info. Other topics are taken from blog posts which you could go read on your own.
Overall, some good info but poorly written and poorly researched.
Some topics are discussed were you can tell she got all the info from another book, which she names, and which I have already read. That other book is a much better source for good info. Other topics are taken from blog posts which you could go read on your own.
Overall, some good info but poorly written and poorly researched.
November 19, 2014
A terrific book full of important information. I have a hard time believing there's a better resource out there. I know I'll be referring to it repeatedly in the future too.
I read a copy of a friend's ebook, but would have preferred paper. In the ebook it's difficult to see the details in tables and charts, and the footnotes are left to the ends of chapters, which is a pain. I've done a LOT of Internet searches to buy a copy, but for some reason this 2013 book is out of print and no longer available as an ebook. Nobody even has used copies available.
I read a copy of a friend's ebook, but would have preferred paper. In the ebook it's difficult to see the details in tables and charts, and the footnotes are left to the ends of chapters, which is a pain. I've done a LOT of Internet searches to buy a copy, but for some reason this 2013 book is out of print and no longer available as an ebook. Nobody even has used copies available.
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April 7, 2014HI all,
I started reading this book based on Gail's strong recommendation. I read the first chapter this morning: It is extremely informational. However, while I strongly recommend it for all of us, it will relate to each of us differently based on our age and planning ability. With that said, we need a novel to read for our family bookclub. Someone make a choice!
L
I started reading this book based on Gail's strong recommendation. I read the first chapter this morning: It is extremely informational. However, while I strongly recommend it for all of us, it will relate to each of us differently based on our age and planning ability. With that said, we need a novel to read for our family bookclub. Someone make a choice!
L
June 24, 2013
Generally solid all-around advice on investing and retirement. I learned about I-Bonds from this book which I hadn't heard of before. It also has a good section on how to find an investment advisor and questions to ask when interviewing a potential advisor.
December 24, 2021
Of what was important to me, there was a lot I already knew, but it was still helpful.
If I was closer to retirement, the information on how to spend the money would have been very helpful.
Smart guide, good info and I need to get smarter on this stuff cause, well, soon or whatever.
If I was closer to retirement, the information on how to spend the money would have been very helpful.
Smart guide, good info and I need to get smarter on this stuff cause, well, soon or whatever.
January 23, 2014
Informative- a wonderful resource in preparation for retirement!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews