Rating: 
Summary: This book's a winner!
Review: LYNN O'SHAUGHNESSY is a terrific wirter who has written a book that combines remarkable readability with comprehensive coverage of financial aspects of retirement. As in her prior book THE UNOFFICIAL GUIDE TO INVESTING and her most recent book THE INVESTING BIBLE, she puts her journalist's skills to good use having thoroughly researched this subject and written for a spectrum of readers ranging from those first approaching the subject to those already quite sophisticated.While lots of others have written about calculating how much you need to have (or to save) for retiremeent and about stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, she covers these beautifully but also covers oft neglected topics: finding the right financial experts, investing and spending strategies during retirement, a nice introduction to estate planning and trusts, managing the family dynamics of inheritance, and the role of charitable giving in retirement income and estate planning. She has also included a thorough and well researched "resource guide" listing by topics the best of names, addresses, phone numbers, and website addresses for further help and study. Just how good is this book? Good enough that we've given it as a present to good friends who also hope to one day retire comfortably.
Rating:
Summary: A Topshelve Guide to Your Money in Retirement
Review: Lynn O'Shaughnessy makes retirement a far less scary place to go. A superb reporter and now author of financial planning books, O'Shaughnessy's care in demystifying current tax rules, estate planning, trusts, gift anuities, and all the other information so crucial to your future when you say adios to the working world makes this a must-have guide. O'Shaughnessy writes readable stuff -- and her research is impeccable. You won't mind getting older quite so much with O'Shaughnessy at your financial elbow. This is a great book!
Rating:
Summary: Perfect timing
Review: This book arrived at the right time for me...not only because, at 40-something, I was starting to worry about planning for my own retirement, but also because I have recently begun to manage an elderly aunt's financial and medical affairs. The book is packed with information and I felt much better informed...and less anxious!...after I read it.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Reference
Review: This book truly is one of the most comprehensive books on retirement I have ever read. The book is written in an easy-to-read format and helps make complicated areas more palpable to absorb. Areas of great information include, managing your cash flow in retirement (The "Trinity Study", very interesting,) strategies for 401(k) and IRA Rollovers and the implications of certain actions. If you are saving for retirement, nearing retirement, or in retirement, I would keep this book around as a reference. The book does need to be updated for the changes to the Required Min. Dist Rules. Other than that, a great book!
Rating:
Summary: Lynn's Quiz
Review: This is a quiz that Lynn (the author) handed out during her presentation in La Mesa CA this past week - enjoy! 1. According to prominent researchers at Cornell University, the typical Baby Boomer inheritence will be: a. $25,000 b. $200,000 c. $90,000 d. $10,000 2. If you inherit an IRA from your mom and dad, you should: a. Remove your benefactors name from the account and transfer the money wherever you please. b. Cash out the account since the IRA's tax-deferred benefits dies with the owner. c. Keep mom or dads name on the account and seek professional advice. 3. Cubes, Spiders and Diamonds are: a. Saturday morning cartoon characters b. Names of after-hours stock market exchanges c. Nicknames of exchange-traded funds, an emerging investment phenomenom. 4. A bear market occurs when stocks fall this far from their peak. a. 10% b. 20% c. 25% 5. If your investment earns an average annual return of 10%, how many years will it take before your money doubles? a. Ten years. b. Seven Years. c. Five Years. 6. Which IRA is the best bet for most Americans: a. Deductible IRA b. Roth IRA c. Nondeductible IRA 7. If you can't fully fund a 401(k) and a Roth IRA, if eligible, you should" a. Ignore the Roth and fund your 401(k). b. Put enough money into your 401(k) to capture the company match and then put any remaining money into a Roth c. Invest the maximum in a Roth. If any money is left, contribute to your 401(k). 8. Since the 1920's, the stock market has historically earned this average rate of return: a. 18% b. 11% c. 24% 9. A will is the backbone of any estate plan. Which of these statements about wills is false: a. You can use a will to bequeath everything you own to loved ones. b. You can't direct who inherits your IRA's, 401(k) or annuities with a will. c. A will is a public document which means anyone can read it after a death. 10. A full-service stock broker: a. Is a sales person. b. Is a financial planner. c. Must have a college degree. d. Answers B and C. 11. Stock index funds generally do better than other stock mutual funds because they have lower expenses. a. True b. False 12. When investing in a mutual fund, this is the one variable you can control: a. Expenses b. Yearly tax bill c. Annual return 13. Since the 1920's, which type of stock has performed the best: a. Large-cap growth stocks b. Small-cap growth stocks c. Large-cap value stocks d. Small-cap value stocks 14. If the contents of a safety deposit box is stolen or damaged or destroyed by flood or fire, the bank is liable. a. True b. False 15. Which one of the following four investments is usually the least tax inefficient? a. Index mutual funds b. Individual stocks c. Bond mutual funds d. Exchange-traded funds. Answers appear at http://www.geocities.com/gary_wachs/retirement.doc
Rating: 
Summary: Very Good Overall
Review: This is a very useful book and it should be on everyone's bookshelf. The presentation on Exchange Traded Funds (SPDR, QQQ, etc.) did not present an accurate picture of the risks in owning these investments, however. ETFs are similar to closed-end mutual funds, and, like closed-end funds, ETFs bear the risk that their per share price may not be equivalent to the per share value of the underlying assets. Stated another way, ETFs may trade at a discount (or rarely, a premium) to the value of the underlying assets. Notwithstanding this critique, the book is indeed a "bible", well worth the purchase price.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good Overall
Review: This is a very useful book and it should be on everyone's bookshelf. The presentation on Exchange Traded Funds (SPDR, QQQ, etc.) did not present an accurate picture of the risks in owning these investments, however. ETFs are similar to closed-end mutual funds, and, like closed-end funds, ETFs bear the risk that their per share price may not be equivalent to the per share value of the underlying assets. Stated another way, ETFs may trade at a discount (or rarely, a premium) to the value of the underlying assets. Notwithstanding this critique, the book is indeed a "bible", well worth the purchase price.
Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive answers to retirement planning questions
Review: Whatever you want to know about retirement -- IRAs, 401k's, annuities, social security, pensions -- you'll find it in this book. It's big, detailed, well-organized, and filled with helpful tips and advice. It's the kind of book that you'll keep on your shelf and return to time and time again as you save and invest for retirement. Plus it's never too complicated in its writing style to confuse you or make you think you'll never be able to figure it all out.
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