Retire on Less Than You Think : The New York Times Guide to Planning Your Financial Future

Rating:
Summary: finally
Review: Finally, a book on retirement that doesn't reflect the hype of the mutual fund industry. Also, the chapter on health care is the most cogent treatment of the subject I have read. A great gift for baby boomers.

Rating:
Summary: peace of mind
Review: Fred Brock has offered those of us facing the supposedly bleak future of retirement without a couple of million bucks in the bank a gift that is worth considerably more than the price of the book -- a little peace of mind. As he has done for years in his New York Times column, Fred Brock reminds us that we aren't really headed for a cat food diet if we just do a little thinking about the real ingredients in the recipe for a good retirement. Read it and weep, Wall Streeet!

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Summary: Hope for retirees!
Review: Fred Brock's book is essential reading for babyboomers who want to retire early. It challenges conventional thinking about how much money is required for a comfortable retirement. The chapter on coping with health insurance is especially helpful.
Many people fail to anticipate that their living costs are going to shrink as their children become independent, their mortgages are paid off and work related expenses go away. That's the message of the book: That you don't need as much as financial services advisers often suggest you will need.

Rating:
Summary: Nothing new
Review: I found nothing new in this book which I felt gave a misguided view on retirement finances. There are better books on the subject.

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Summary: Political commentary disguised as retirment planning
Review: I was duped by the title of this book into believeing that I was buying a book on retirement planning. Instead, what I got were the completely and utterly biased political views of an East Coast liberal Democrat which he has presented as fact. I have never been so disappointed in a book or in a publisher who would allow such a mischaracterization of a book's contents. As bad as the one-sided opinions are that Mr. Brock wants you to take as stone-cold-fact is what he leaves out...like Alan Greenspan's comments on the Social Security system or Nobel prize winning economist Edward Prescott's concerns over the system. Mr. Brock also repeatedly (and I have to assume intentionally) misleads readers that the current Social Security privatazation proposals would only allow young workers to allocate funds to the stock market. There are far better books to read on Social Security, retirement planning and political views that this one. I would encourage readers to try "The Millionaire Next Door" as a vastly superior alternative to this diatribe.

Rating:
Summary: Two, Two, Two Books in one!
Review: I was sorely tempted to give the book 5 stars in an attempt to offset those who gave it 1 star because they disagree with Brock's political lean, but I decided to just let it be self-standing. But is there really a book of this sort that is so worthless that it deserves only 1 star?

Having said that, this book has a huge hunk of material that simply doesn't belong. Most if not all of the health insurance and social security flogging should, if Brock really wants to make the arguments he does, be sequestered into a separate book. There are a lot of good points made elsewhere, and useful material--I, like some other reviewers, have read other books where some of the same ideas turn up, but I don't assume everybody reads as much on the same topics. So, as a single volume exposure to those things it's pretty good. Where Brock does the reader no favors is in the sophistry concerning social security and health insurance. As in many things, the most conservative way is the best in planning for uncertain outcomes. It would have in my opinion have been better for Brock to say, "Personally, I believe social security is here to stay, but here's some considerations in case YOU don't." Rather, he goes on at painful (and I think, misleading by omission) length to create readers who will resist attempts to fix social security. I don't want to tutorial here but if you take a look at Alan Greenspan's last social security fix 20 years ago, Scott Burns' DALLAS MORNING NEWS columns and his recent book, you will see that trouble is brewing at the social security administration (which, by the way, freely admits they are in trouble starting as early as 2010). Ditto, the fact that people use fake IDs to go to Canada for care may be true and may be interesting, but it doesn't disprove any of the other disturbing charges about Canada's health care system. There is a rich literature on this as well from other sources, and they don't support Brock...

Basically, I am suggesting that roughly half the book credibly suggests tips for preparing financially for retirement, and the other half should be used as a starting point for study on insurance and social security reform, but NOT as proof that you will have either one when you get there...

Rating:
Summary: Road Map to a Meaningful Retirement
Review: If you are serious about planning a meaningful retirement, Fred Brock's book is as good a road map as you are likely to find.

Rating:
Summary: Political NOT practical
Review: If you can get past the author's jaded political views on the Canadian healthcare system and his rose colored view of Social Security's viability, you'll find not much more than a simple worksheet by which to calculate your post-retirement needs.
The practical suggestions (there are some) are limited and at times obvious.....ie: Ignore Wall Street's rules of thumb on how much you'll need to live on. The rest is NY Times op-ed filler. What a shame.....he had the right idea...just didn't follow through.

Rating:
Summary: Brock's opinions might lead to your penury
Review: If you followed Brock's advice on cutting unnecessary expenses then you probably shouldn't buy this book ($15). Mostly NY times op-ed filler with a few helpful web links. An example is the chapter on obtaining health insurance which is 90% a call to arms for nationalized health insurance and 10% practical advice. You can indeed consider retiring on less than you think if you believe the current government safety nets will be in place (and relatively unchanged) for the next 30 years and you are willing to live at a level that the government deems appropriate. I give the book one star for the included web links.

Rating:
Summary: Thought Provoking
Review: The basic premise of the book is that you don't need a retirement nest egg large enough to provide you with 70-80% of your present income to retire comfortably. This is contrary to the common advice found in the marketplace and the author attacks this as hype. I found his commentary insightful and thought provoking as I had bought into the believe that you needed at least 70% of your present income otherwise you would be stuck eating Alpo. I agree with the author's basic point that if you live in an expensive metropolitan area (e.g. Manhattan, Chicago, SF) and are willing to relocate to a less expensive area you can retire comfortably on a modest income. I agree with some commentators' criticism that the author spends time making his own political commentary on Social Security and healthcare, but this does not detract from the rest of the book. I wish the book had gone into more detail on some of the subjects covered, but a reader can continue researching various topics by looking at the websites recommended in the book. Unless you are "set for life," I would recommend that you take a look at this book. After reading it, I am rethinking my retirement plans and am not nearly as nervous of making my retirement work as I was before.