The Charles Schwab Guide to Finances After Fifty: Answers to Your Most Important Money Questions

by Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, Joanne Cuthbertson

Here at last are the hard-to-find answers to the dizzying array of financial questions plaguing those who are age fifty and older.

The financial world is more complex than ever, and people are struggling to make sense of it all. If you’re like most people moving into the phase of life where protecting—as well as growing-- assets is paramount, you’re faced with a number of financial puzzles.  Maybe you’re struggling to get your kids through college without drawing down your life’s savings. Perhaps you sense your nest egg is at risk and want to move into safer investments. Maybe you’re contemplating downsizing to a smaller home, but aren’t sure of the financial implications. Possibly, medical expenses have become a bigger drain than you expected and you need help assessing options.  Perhaps you’ll shortly be eligible for social security but want to optimize when and how to take it.

Whatever your specific financial issue, one thing is certain—your range of choices is vast. As the financial world becomes increasingly complex, what you need is deeply researched advice from professionals whose credentials are impeccable and who prize clarity and straightforwardness over financial mumbo-jumbo.

Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz and the Schwab team have been helping clients tackle their toughest money issues for decades.  Through Carrie’s popular “Ask Carrie” columns, her leadership of the Charles Schwab Foundation, and her work across party lines through two White House administrations and with the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability, she has become one of America’s most trusted sources for financial advice.
 
Here, Carrie will not only answer all the questions that keep you up at night, she’ll provide answers to many questions you haven’t considered but should.
 

Genres: Finance, Nonfiction, Personal Finance, Reference, Money, Business

432 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Steve Peifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you like unintentional humor, you've hit the mother lode with this gem. Nothing is more inspirational than someone who is the daughter of a billionaire who has never had to work a day in her life giving financial advice. The Great Recession? Portfolios went down, but they came back up! And that's the empathetic insight you get because if you were a trust funder, nothing else happened. If you lost your job or you are now underemployed, not a sentence. Her explanation of COBRA is so great; you may have to pay more. Nothing about how challenging that is when you are unemployed. My favorite sentence is this: But at the end of the day, it comes down to old-fashioned financial discipline. Wow. After the Great Recession, that is all you've got?

With elegantly titled chapters like Fit as a Fiddle, the writing is as clunky as you might expect. I'm trying to get the market for this book. I think the author believes there are LOTS of people in their 50's who haven't prepared for retirement, and the reason wasn't lack of resources. They have plenty of money, they just need to start saving it. It's so oblivious to the reality of most middle class Americans that I was surprised there wasn't a chapter called 'Let them eat cake.'

[Tim Blackburn · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent personal finance guidebook that is focused on a person in their mid 50s but contains sound financial information for people in their 30s through their 70s. The format of the book is a series of 50 personal financial decisions that people commonly face. The author gives practical advice regarding potential financial decisions we all make in our life without using technical language. A very reader-friendly format which I found useful and informational.

[Fran Day · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent primer for those interested in organizing and constructing a financial portfolio. Explains all of the terms with an extensive glossary and gives real world examples of which each strategy or product would yield. The “after 50“ part of the title attracted my attention, but this book, though weighted towards things you should be doing it as you approach retirement, is an excellent overview for anyone interested in being financially secure.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book for those less knowledgeable about retirement planning and who are in their 50s or higher in age. As I consider myself to be very knowledgeable in investing/retirement planning, the book was a good review but not very enlightening. Regardless, the author is very knowledgeable and writes in an easy-to-understand manner. The most insightful part of the book for me was the long-term care planning section. Two notes of interest are below.

- Statistics also show that spending tends to decline with age, especially as we get into our 80s and 90s. p12. PJK: Never thought about this but it makes sense. When you first retire you tend to spend just as much as before you retired as you’re still very healthy and active. When you get into your higher years, you tend to travel less far/frequently.
- RMDs are not required for Roth IRAs. P41. PJK: I obviously have not thought much about RMD as they are 20 years in the future… but I realize now that most of my funds are in Roth IRAs thus Uncle Sam already has his money meaning I’m fully in charge of when to withdraw my retirement savings. :)

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read many personal finance books in the past year. This book, written specifically for people heading toward retirement, contains by far the most complete information and guidance. While it is a bit out of date tax-wise (as far as writing off charitable deductions go and maximums in HSAs, etc.), it contains information not contained in most other finance books. For example, what key areas should be considered as you head into retirement? How should you invest? What accounts should be funded first (401K traditional vs Roth vs brokerage, and so on). I'd love to see an updated edition published.

[John Fredrickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a light coverage of many issues associated with the financial and familial issues of retiring. It is organized as Questions followed by short (10 pages or so) Answers, where the surfaced issue is explored in a way that opens up the possibility of dealing with the issue well. The material is not covered in great depth, but explores and frames the overall retirement process in direct, easily readable language.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't read this cover-to-cover; I just read the parts that were relevant for me.
It's not a bad guide, I guess. A lot of the advice in this book was stuff I already knew, but if you don't already know this stuff... you need to know it.
In some of the specifics, I think they over-complicated some things, and over-simplified others. But if you really have no clue about what do with your finances, and you're over 50, this is probably a good book to help you start figuring things out.

[Carrie Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book contains a lot of good information, but it's best used as a resource rather than a book to read through front-to-back. Some of the information is very basic and some is extremely complex and unlikely to apply to most readers' situations. I was looking for some specific information about Social Security claiming strategies, and I did find that information in the book, so I was happy. But I usually find financial guides more interesting than this one.

[Mark S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great foundation for organizing your finances at 50

This book lays out all the financial advice and considerations at the appropriate level of detail, with resources listed for more in depth explanations as needed. I found the chapters on social security and Medicare to be especially insightful.

[Christian Crowley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Q&A format w 50 relevant and helpful q'ns in 6 sections:
1. 10+ years before retiring
2. ready to retire
3. retired
4. social sec'y & medicare
5. estate plans
6. family

Each q'n ends w "next step" refer'cs to oth q'ns

[CBW Librarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Probably better suited to people on the threshold of retirement. Worth taking another look at it down the road.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good, sound, useful information.

[Kendal · Rating 5 out of 5]

GE this when you're 30.

[Alberto Araujo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book full of good information

Great book full of good information. It needs an update since some information is now old due to law changes.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Question and answer format that can be read through or used as an reference. I read through only skipping a few questions not relevant to me. Excellent glossary in back.

[Tonya Matheson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book that covers everything you need to know at my age!

[Esther Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

EXCELLENT

An excellent guide for people from 40s & above navigating through the upcoming retirement years. Start now! It’s never too late

[Jay French · Rating 4 out of 5]

I happened to stop by my local Schwab office in February and the fellow watching the desk at lunchtime literally thrust the book at me, the only copy in sight in their office. Those that know me know I never say no to a free book. And this was a topic that is very timely, as I have recently entered the “fabulous” fifties. And I have been reading a lot recently on personal finance matters. This one covers the world of personal finance by asking 50 questions. I found most applied to me or offered some interesting tidbit that I could share at family gatherings and such (“Did you know charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts are like polar opposites of each other?” I have never been popular at family reunions.) This is an excellent survey of the topic “personal finance pre-retirement”.

Readers might wonder if this is a simple book or complex. Let’s say on a 10 point scale of complexity that a 1 on this topic would be something like “Dr. Seuss on Retirement Finances”, in rhyme. And say a 10 would be an academic research paper. The most complex book on the topic you might find in a mall book store would be like a 6. This one would be somewhere around a 4 – not as detailed as some other books out there, but it could serve as a good introduction. I have recently read some good living trust books and social security planning books that I actually bought at the mall book store, and I’d put those at a 5 or 6 on that scale. This covered the same topics as those books, but in a handful of pages, glossing over many of the issues that pop up but at least warning you they are there.

When I think of Schwab I think of personal finance DIYers. This book took the tact of recommending calling the experts on topics that were very complex or that had dangerous pitfalls possible, like writing trust documents and dealing with estates for blended families. This surprised me initially, but is the correct way to deal with these topics given the level the book aims at.

Overall, I don’t think I learned anything new, but that is in part because I read this right after reading a number of books on this topic. It is a good to excellent review or survey of the topics for a US-based reader, and I will probably keep it around for reference for a while. Thanks Chuck! And Carrie!

[Joe Silber · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty good overview of retirement-related finances. There's a lot of basic information that most people who are at all informed on retirement probably already know, but enough added detail to make it worthwhile anyway, at least to me. There's probably not too much here that you couldn't find on the internet, but it's nice to have it all in one place in easy-to-read language.

The book is divided up by topics phrased in the form of questions (such as "Should I be debt-free before I retire" and "Does a reverse mortgage make sense") which allow you to easily skip over topics that are not of interest. There are a few minor plugs for Charles Schwab, but not enough to be overly irritating.

A few useful bits that I got out of the book:
1) Roth 401(k) plans are a very cool option; look into them seriously if they are available to you
2) Unless you have unique health issues, get long term care insurance between age 50 and 65 to get the most value for your money
3) How much can I really expect to get out of Social Security?
4) Reasons to get an annuity, and reasons not to

Since I'm a good 30 years or so away from retirement, I expect to revisit this sort of book in more detail again in the future, but anyone who is of adult age and working should have some basic working knowledge about the topics in this book.

[Karen Schnakenberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an overall good overview, and there are a number of handy summary charts that should be useful as quick reminders of main ideas. The scope is pretty comprehensive, and she does a good job of explaining basic concepts. The problem I have is that the approach is almost too even-handed. For example, she explains the differences between investing in index funds and actively managed funds, and as a strength of the managed funds indicates that they have the "potential" to outperform their indexes, whereas index funds, by definition, do not, but what she doesn't say is that only 10-15% of active managers manage to do so, and that because their fees are higher than index fund fees, their yields are almost inevitably lower. In fact, she doesn't mention at all that there is any controversy regarding active vs passive funds. Likewise with her discussion of annuities. These omissions makes it seem as though the choices are equivalent and that there is no particularly better option. That said, she does provide a good, solid overview that made me realize that I already understand many of the basics and probably need something more detailed and focused

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good information for retirement planning.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is excellent. It was recommended by Michele Singletary in the Washington Post a few weeks ago...as much as one likes to think one has prepared and/or knows what to know, a well-written review and direction for money questions is just invaluable to me, at least. Although we are well, well beyond 50, the sections and presentation are fine, fine for reviewing what we've tackled to date, how we can expect the financial events of our lives to progress at this point and very very clear, jargon-less (or, at least, Jargon-well-defined) explanations and guidance.

Glad I have it in my library.

[Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book after Michele Singletary of the Washington Post mentioned it in a column. Although still a few years short of fifty, it provided me many tools and insight into planning steps, and having these in one comprehensive book (with an index!) is invaluable. An eye-opening suggestion was to budget for non-discretionary and discretionary items, which then lets you see where you are spending on necessities versus non-necessities. Or making a list of where your executor can find all your financial documents, will and contacts. I will come back again and again to this resourceful book: it answers so many of your questions about financial planning.

[Susan Robison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this in a first reads contest and my husband and I are devouring it's useful information. Although we have saved and invested well for our upcoming retirement, this book opened our eyes to things we hadn't even thought about needing to know! It is a must read for all 50 somethings, even those who think they have planned well. This advice will help you leave no stone unturned! This will probably be on my "currently reading" shelf forever because we will go back to it again and again as we prepare for our long happy retirement of cruising and grand babies!

[Noah Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book touching on many areas for those, as it says, over 50 and needing to know what to do nearing and in retirement. Addresses numerous questions to ask (and answers) concerning transitioning into retirement, social security, medicare, life in retirement, estate planning, proper insurances, etc.

Written in an easy to reference and concise style, this is a book to own and reference as you enter these years.

[Darryl Pendergrass]

Recommended Reading for those within 15 years of Retirement

I was inspired to begin investing in my early 20's by a mentor. I took that advice and thankful for that wisdom shared with me now that I am closer to retirement age. This book provided answers to numerous questions that arise during the final years of preparation. I was particularly interested in the coverage of the various trusts available to ensure for the financial care loved ones when needed.

[Eric Reidsma · Rating 2 out of 5]

There’s probably nothing in here that you can’t find on the internet, buts it kind of nice to have all this good information put together. I’m probably too young to make use of most of it and it seems that the rules are constantly changing so I’m not sure how long this book will be relevant. It was eye opening for me to see what a debacle Medicare is though.

[Bruce · Rating 3 out of 5]

An OK resource, but not one of the better ones I've read. This isn't a book I'm likely to want to refer to in the future. I got it from the library, and see no need to buy a copy to keep handy. One nice feature is the layout. It's broken out into many small chapters that each aim to answer an specific question. This made it easier to to skip over parts that I wasn't overly interested in.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

good overview, in readily digested FAQ format, of standard topics such as saving for retirement, as well as some detailed checklists for more specialized situations such as setting up a trust to fund care for a special needs child after you're gone.

not scintillating reading or funny or what have you, but could be a useful reference to have handy for planning purposes.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book free from my employer. I decided to give it a read. Not a bad book; I found it to be fairly basic look at finances. Will help those people who have questions about Social Security and Medicare. I forwarded my copy to my father-in-law who I think will benefit from it.