The Retirement Survival Guide: How to Make Smart Financial Decisions in Good Times and Bad

by Julie Jason

Overview

From a top investment advisor comes time-tested, rock-solid retirement advice for people of every income level.
Given today’s dire headlines, planning a secure retirement has become a more critical task than ever. This revised edition of Julie Jason’s award-winning guide—updated to reflect current laws and statistics—will help Americans seeking safety and stability in a time of economic change. In addition to showing those on the verge of retirement how to create their own “personal pension,” investment educator Jason deftly guides prospective retirees through the otherwise bewildering process of evaluating their needs, anticipating future expenses (and managing current ones), and converting present assets into future retirement income. To achieve this goal, she assembles—and shares with the reader—an entire tool kit of self-assessments, tables, checklists, and essential questions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781454927334
Publisher:	Union Square & Co.
Publication date:	09/26/2017
Edition description:	Revised
Pages:	344
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 7.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Julie Jason is a personal money manager who began her career as a securities lawyer 30 years ago. A proponent of investor protection, Ms. Jason writes and lectures on investment topics. Her award-winning weekly column, published in the Sunday business sections of the Stamford Advocate and the Greenwich Time, is in its 18th year of publication. The column has been recognized by the IRS for “accurate, timely, informative, and helpful tax information,” and by the Connecticut Society of Journalists and Authors for excellence in journalism. Ms. Jason is also the author of Managing Retirement Wealth (Sterling).

Table of Contents

Introduction vii

Part I Understanding the Basics

Chapter 1 Achieving a Secure Retirement 3

Chapter 2 Your Personal Cash Flow 13

Chapter 3 Sources of Retirement Income 23

Chapter 4 Income from Social Security 33

Chapter 5 Will Your Money Last as Long as You Do? 47

Chapter 6 Can You Improve Your Situation? 61

Chapter 7 Enter the Financial Adviser 75

Part II Security for Sale: Evaluating Retirement-Income Products

Chapter 8 Guaranteed Lifelong Income 95

Chapter 9 Creating Your Own Personal Pension 105

Chapter 10 The Promise of Gain with No Pain: Equity-Indexed or Fixed Annuities 123

Chapter 11 It's Not Too Late to Catch Up: The Guaranteed Minimum Income Benefit 139

Chapter 12 Guaranteed Withdrawals So You Don't Run Out of Money: The Guaranteed Minimum Withdrawal Benefit, or GMWB 161

Chapter 13 Certificates of Deposit: Not All CDs Are Created Equal 177

Chapter 14 Cashing Out of Your Home 189

Part III Investing in Your Future: Retirement-Income Planning and the Markets

Chapter 15 Tax-Deferred Account Decisions 205

Chapter 16 Making the Markets Work for You 219

Part IV Pulling It All Together: Uncle Sam, Your Adviser, and You

Chapter 17 Taxes in Retirement 239

Chapter 18 Taking Money Out of IRAs and Other Tax-Deferred Accounts 251

Chapter 19 Sales Tactics, Scams, and Bad Advice: A "Perfect Storm" for Retirees 261

Chapter 20 Finding an Adviser Who Is Right for You 275

Chapter 21 The Finish Line 287

Part V More Retirement Resources

Appendix A Prospective Adviser Notepad 299

Appendix B Client Reference Notepad 300

Appendix C Quick-Test Factors for Different Retirement Periods and Rates of Return301

Appendix D Retirement Income Management: A Case Study 302

Appendix E AARP Resources 323

Acknowledgments 324

About the Author 326

Index 327

Editorial Reviews

Praise for the original edition:
Winner of the 2010 EIFLE Award for Excellence in Financial Literacy Education      
Winner of the 2010 International Book Award for Personal Finance
Winner of the 2010 National Best Books Award for Personal Finance
 
“A fast read on a difficult-to-follow subject. In these tougher times, a guide like this becomes an even more invaluable tool.” —Jonathan Dahl, Editor in Chief, SmartMoney
 
“Hard-working Americans need a road map through today's bewildering financial world. From the basics of financial planning to understanding how to secure a dignified retirement, Julie Jason has provided a financial GPS for attaining your goals.”
—Joseph Borg, Director, Alabama Securities Commission

“Whether you’re a do-it-yourself investor or want a professional to help you, The AARP
Retirement Survival Guide spells out what you need to consider and understand to make informed retirement-income planning decisions.” —Betty Meredith, InFRE Retirement Resource Center
 
"[I]t’s well worth the book’s cover price to delve into these somewhat arcane financial instruments if only because the author posits, in plain English, the ups and downs . . . If that isn’t clear enough, she creates a fictional case study with numbers and charts, accompanied by a straightforward assessment on ease of understanding, complexity, risks, safety, costs and taxes, and the salesperson’s motivation. That approach characterizes all of the chapters, whether on tax-deferred accounts or sales scams to avoid. Resources and research cinch the deal to consider this top of the borrower’s pile." —Booklist

From the Publisher