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Rating: 
Summary: Wide-Ranging, but shallow effort
Review: "I'm Retiring, Now What?" is a book that appears to aimed at near-retirees who might feel that they are missing something before reading the book. And most folks will probably feel that they come away with at least one or two bits of new and useful information after reading it. The problem is that nearly every conceivable pre-retirement topic is hit in a two-page-limit format, one after another, with the assurance that the most basic information on each topic is included. The result is that there is information over and over again that you'd think would have been understood by the reader already. Some examples: "...credit card bills on a fixed income can quickly become hazardous to your financial health." "To be eligible (for Social Security), you or your spouse need to have acquired 40 credits during our working years." "In 1997 a new kind of IRA was born: the Roth IRA." "Medicare is a health insurance program for people 65 or older." Another negative on the book is that it consistently takes popular stands, almost as if it is the easy way out. For example, on long-term-care insurance, it states the common insurance industry statistic: "...almost half of America's elderly citizens will spend time in some type of long term care." Anybody who know where that statistic comes from knows that the industry continues to include people who go into a care facility for less than a year, knowing that that group, which is about half of the "half" in the statistic should be thrown out. A better number is that about 25% of those over 65 will spend more than a year in a facility. In several cases, the book pushes AARP membership, but is not convincing in its sales pitch, but gives the feeling that it is hopeful for the AARP endorsements because of the plugs. Another rub is some of the photos. For the section on Social Security, a guy pictured at the beginning of the section looks to be well into his 70's to me. With more than 60% of Americans now starting Social Security at age 62, this guy seems inappropriate for the book if it is, in fact, being written primarily for those on the verge of retirement. Other photos of folks who would appear to be well into their 70's or even 80's seem confusing to me, as they do not seem to be the target audience. In the financial areas, I also don't see the advice to spend down one's private savings before pulling from 401K's or IRA's, advice that is commonly given by other sources. In summary, while the book is a quick, harmless read, I don't feel that it is, in general, worth the effort. The layout, graphics and price .........should lead to good sales, but what's missing for me is any inspiration about the retirement concept itself. The work is obviously written by non-retired financial advisor types trying to hit all the bases, which produces just another looking-in-from-the-outside work for pre-retirees. I don't feel that it makes any serious impact to the body of books having been written on the subject of retirement to date.
Rating:
Summary: Wide-Ranging, but shallow effort
Review: "I'm Retiring, Now What?" is a book that appears to aimed at near-retirees who might feel that they are missing something before reading the book. And most folks will probably feel that they come away with at least one or two bits of new and useful information after reading it. The problem is that nearly every conceivable pre-retirement topic is hit in a two-page-limit format, one after another, with the assurance that the most basic information on each topic is included. The result is that there is information over and over again that you'd think would have been understood by the reader already. Some examples: "...credit card bills on a fixed income can quickly become hazardous to your financial health." "To be eligible (for Social Security), you or your spouse need to have acquired 40 credits during our working years." "In 1997 a new kind of IRA was born: the Roth IRA." "Medicare is a health insurance program for people 65 or older." Another negative on the book is that it consistently takes popular stands, almost as if it is the easy way out. For example, on long-term-care insurance, it states the common insurance industry statistic: "...almost half of America's elderly citizens will spend time in some type of long term care." Anybody who know where that statistic comes from knows that the industry continues to include people who go into a care facility for less than a year, knowing that that group, which is about half of the "half" in the statistic should be thrown out. A better number is that about 25% of those over 65 will spend more than a year in a facility. In several cases, the book pushes AARP membership, but is not convincing in its sales pitch, but gives the feeling that it is hopeful for the AARP endorsements because of the plugs. Another rub is some of the photos. For the section on Social Security, a guy pictured at the beginning of the section looks to be well into his 70's to me. With more than 60% of Americans now starting Social Security at age 62, this guy seems inappropriate for the book if it is, in fact, being written primarily for those on the verge of retirement. Other photos of folks who would appear to be well into their 70's or even 80's seem confusing to me, as they do not seem to be the target audience. In the financial areas, I also don't see the advice to spend down one's private savings before pulling from 401K's or IRA's, advice that is commonly given by other sources. In summary, while the book is a quick, harmless read, I don't feel that it is, in general, worth the effort. The layout, graphics and price .........should lead to good sales, but what's missing for me is any inspiration about the retirement concept itself. The work is obviously written by non-retired financial advisor types trying to hit all the bases, which produces just another looking-in-from-the-outside work for pre-retirees. I don't feel that it makes any serious impact to the body of books having been written on the subject of retirement to date.
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