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

Julie Jason (Author)

Book Description

Series: AARP | Publication Date: August 4, 2009

Bank bailouts. Ponzi schemes. Plunging financial markets. Given today’s dire headlines, planning a secure retirement has become a more critical task than ever.

Now, for Americans seeking safety and stability in a time of wrenching economic change, comes investment educator Julie Jason with this no-nonsense guide, which won the award for Best Personal Finance Book at the International Book Awards and was chosen as the top business book by Booklist. It offers time-tested, rock-solid retirement advice for people of every income level: in addition to showing those on the verge of retirement how to create their own "personal pension,” 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.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Julie Jason is a personal money manager who began her career as a securities lawyer thirty years ago. She is principal of Jackson, Grant Investment Advisers, Inc., of Stamford, Connecticut, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Jackson, Grant serves conservative retirees who want to create retirement income.

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 tenth 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 You and Your 401(k), The 401(k) Plan Handbook, JK Lasser’s Strategic Investing After 50, Julie Jason’s Guide to Connecticut Probate, and the forthcoming Julie Jason’s Guide to Managing Retirement Wealth.

 

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Sterling (August 4, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402743416
• ISBN-13: 978-1402743412
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,507 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Julie Jason works with families who want her to manage their retirement portfolios. Having gotten her start on Wall Street as a lawyer thirty years ago, she approaches investing with a blend of optimism (everyone can do something to improve their financial situations) and a dose of healthy skepticism (don't invest unless you understand what can go wrong), which is reflected in her books, articles and column.

She takes every opportunity to write, teach, and coach people who want to expand their knowledge and enhance their financial decision-making ability.

Julie's book, The AARP Retirement Survival Guide, was named as a TOP TEN BUSINESS BOOK for 2010 by BOOKLIST.

Julie's book also received a number of awards:

1) The 2010 International Book Award for Personal Finance
2) The 2010 EIFLE Award (Excellence in Financial Literacy Education)
3) The 2010 Best Books Award for Personal Finance
4) Axiom Best Books Award for Retirement Planning for 2011
5) The 2010 New York State Society of CPA's Award for Excellence in Financial Journalism (for an AAII article based on two chapters of the book).

If you want to ask Julie a question she can answer in her column (www.greenwichtime.com), email her at [e-mail]. Visit Julie at www.juliejason.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, But Not Detailed Enough To Create A Retirement Plan, November 17, 2010

By 

Motor Head (Columbus, IN USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The AARP Retirement Survival Guide: How to Make Smart Financial Decisions in Good Times and Bad (Paperback)

I purchased this book because amazon.com alerted me to it and because it had all
5* customer reviews. After having read it I have mixed feelings about its usefulness :

On one hand, it provides a good overview of the financial planning process that needs to be followed to determine how much to save for retirement and how much to withdraw during retirement. It also provides a good overview of some of the retirement income products/annuities, and it has helpful checklists to select a financial adviser. Furthermore, I found the chapter on reverse mortgages a useful
introduction to a very complex subject, with several helpful web sites listed.

On the other hand, the book is not detailed enough to do a financial plan, i.e. establish an affordable expense budget in retirement that includes determination of the amounts that can be safely withdrawn from investments. There are better books available that include detailed worksheets to do this, such as J.K.Lasser's "Your Winning Retirement Plan", or "Getting Started In A Financially Secure Retirement" by Henry Hebeler (both of these books also refer the reader to useful
web sites for DYI financial analysis/modeling).

Part II ("Evaluating Retirement Income Products) provides a high level overview of annuities, enough to probably confuse/scare most readers to avoid these products altogether or to see a financial adviser (perhaps this is intentional).

Appendix D contains an interesting case study with a complete retirement plan; unfortunately it is presented without any explanatory comments accompanying the individual worksheets, thus leaves the reader with many questions as to the details/logic of the plan.

In summary, this book provides a good overview of the retirement planning process and does an excellent job cautioning readers about unscrupulous financial advisers, sales tactics and investment scams. It is, however, not detailed enough to be a "hands 0n" how-to-do-it guide with which people can do their own financial retirement plan.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for pre-retiree and retirees!, July 23, 2009

By 

Mark A. Laoun (Greenwich, CT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The AARP Retirement Survival Guide: How to Make Smart Financial Decisions in Good Times and Bad (Paperback)

An extremely valuable and comprehensive decision making framework for pre-retiree and retirees. Beyond what you would normally see in books that cover investing for retirement, this book goes one step further and includes ways to evaluate financial advisors, what they say, and the investment products they sell. Julie's "Don't Be Fooled Rules in chapter 19 are particularly valuable in addition to her "Retirement Risk Assessment" on page 294. This book is an easy to understand and tremendously valuable resource. A must read!

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Comprehensive Approach to Retirement Issues, September 9, 2009

By 

cfin (Greenwich, CT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The AARP Retirement Survival Guide: How to Make Smart Financial Decisions in Good Times and Bad (Paperback)

This is impressive coverage of financial matters in retirement situations (or leading to retirement). Chapter 7 was informative about the categories of financial providers; i.e. who regulates or licenses them, standards of conduct and obligations to the investor, and underlying motivations (how are they paid!). Good charts. There was meaningful discussion about categories of annuities, benefits, complexities, fees & costs and other pitfalls. Julie Jason has healthy skepticism about financial products and how they are sold. (Those free lunches and seminars are never free!). Julie's message and focus are clear: clients and their financial well-being come first. Costs matter in the compounding and wealth equations. As a retired CPA, I was familiar with many of the issues but there was much new information. I would highly recommend the book as a financial planning guide or as a reference for the financial library.