Control Your Retirement Destiny: Achieving Financial Security Before The Big Transition

by Dana Anspach

People in their fifties start to 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 “safe” investments? In short, what do I need to do now to ensure a comfortable retirement? Control Your Retirement 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 from your 20s through your early 50s has been straightforward. But once you hit your mid 50s and beyond, you need a different kind of plan to align investments, retirement accounts, taxes, Social Security, and pension decisions, all with a single providing reliable, life-long income. In this book, nationally known retirement expert Dana Anspach explains how each part works, how one decision affects another, and how to focus on the things you can control (like managing taxes and risk) rather than on those you can’t control (such as inflation or investment returns). 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. A transition into retirement can be scary. Control Your Retirement Destiny equips you with the knowledge you’ll need to avoid big mistakes while optimizing the flow of funds to support the retirement you’ve always dreamed of. This - Covers all the major topics in retirement planning – investments, Social Security, annuities, taxes, healthcare, part-time work, and more - Provides examples of how planning decisions can result in a more secure outcome when they are coordinated - Helps couples coordinate their retirement incomes to maximize benefits - Shows how to create a plan to enable the life you’d like to live after ending full-time employment - Explains how to work with advisors (and how to find the best ones) if you’d rather not plan your own finances Control Your Retirement Achieving Financial Security Before the Big Transition is for those who are beginning to think about when and how they might transition out of regular, full-time work. It will enable you to take charge of your financial future right now to ensure a happy, secure retirement.

Genres: Finance, Nonfiction, Personal Finance, Self Help, Economics

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Daniel G · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend for anyone near retirement - interesting content on tax planning for retirement etc. Will re-read and use the recommended calculators.

[Shayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good! A little out of date, but thorough.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ready to retire!

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Laurie]

HI 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

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Beige Alert · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative- a wonderful resource in preparation for retirement!