Customer Reviews

How to Retire Happy: The 12 Most Important Decisions You Must Make Before You Retire

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For a financial writer with a major newspaper, this author was surprisingly uninformed about his retirement planning. He points out the mistakes he made, primarily from being uninformed about social security, his 401-k investment options, and how much money he might need in retirement. He then goes on to tell what he would have done differently HAD HE REALIZED the implications of his inaction while young. He realized too late that a little planning during his career would have made a big difference to him in retirement. While well written, this book is pretty basic. It is a good primer for someone thinking of their retirement options. This is an easy, enjoyable read; I finished it in two evenings.

They say hindsight is 20/20, but by reading this book your foresight will be too. There is no hype here, just straight common sense from a guy who's already where you want to be.

Are you planning on living on less money in retirement? Do you really want to? Stan tells you that's not realistic and why. And what to expect about taxes, and health insurance.. Take it from someone who's already there. This book will help you ensure a comfortable and happy retirement.

Well written and easy to read. The book fills in the gaps leading to retirement and allows one to make up for lost time in looking at things that need to be considered for retirement.

Thinking about the retirement experience and preparing for it before it happens makes sense given the number of sixty year old baby boomers who can be expected to live into their nineties. Decisions dealing with matters of healthcare, finance, and 'lifestyle' may be different but no less consequential than in earlier years. At a time when individuals may be trying to simplify their lives, the process of retiring may seem daunting. A perspective, a 'retirementality', needs to be adopted to deal with these matters. Hinden's chapters are organized around twelve questions facing the retiree. These questions provide an overview of health insurance, social security, investing in retirement, estate planning, etc. To my mind this is an excellent way of getting the reader to think about their own circumstances. Hinden's personal anecdotes, some cautionary, are useful too.

Many surveys suggest that pre-retirees have unrealistic expectations about how they will live during and pay for their retirement years. For example, a McKinsey & Company study (source: Wall Street Journal) shows a disconnect over surveyed pre-retirees' plans to work in retirement, reduce their discretionary spending, downsize or relocate their home, pay less in taxes, live off an inheritance, or live comfortably on their pension. The reality is that many of these things generally do not occur. Underlying Hinden's affable discussion of retirement issues is a tougher reality. The majority of Americans have not prepared for maintaining the quality of life they imagine in retirement.

I borrowed this book from the library, but decided to buy it so I could underline pertinent areas and make notes here and there. Have been a fan of Stan Hinden since he wrote for the Washington Post. I would highly recommend this book since it is very readable and yet provides a wealth of information. I totally appreciate Mr. Hinden's honesty in sharing his own experiences in so many aspects involving his retirement years. My husband and I are in our late 50's and hope to retire someday with confidence and security. Books like this one are invaluable resources,when it comes to making decisions and choices that are so critical. Buy it, read it and then keep it for reference.

I ordered this ook hoping for generalized retirement solutions and found it full of 401k and Medicare details. None of this applies to anyone outside the US so don't bother with it.