Invent Your Retirement: Resources for the Good Life [Paperback]

Art Koff (Author), Jane Gawthrop (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2006

Seniors today face a great many challenges not faced by their parents and grandparents. In the twenty-first century the traditional notion of retirement - to stop working and enjoy your spare time - has become obsolete! "Invent Your Retirement" is the handiest reference guide you'll ever find. Here are the questions to ask, the resources to answer them and the ways to help you define your life after you retire. Decide where and how you will live. Live better and longer by exercising your brain, continuing to work, volunteering, going back to school, improving your diet, or getting a dog or cat. Understand memory loss and how it differs from Alzheimer's. Start your own business and/or set up a home office. Find how easy it is to become computer literate. See what experts say on protecting your credit, funding your retirement, estate planning, and investment strategies. Gain insight on health matters: buying prescription drugs, assisted living, long-term care insurance, and nursing homes. Understand how Social Security and Medicare work for you.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Invent Your Retirement is the perfect prescription for turning those declining years into a productive and satisfying second half of your life. A smorgasboard of ideas coupled with a pot-full of checklists and a pinch of attitude are all it takes --Gerry Crispin, Chief Navigator, CareerXroads

Art Koff is the living, breathing example of the kind of pro-active opportunistic living that this book describes in practical detail. It is the perfect tonic to jolt seniors out of their lethargy and headlong into their Golden Years --Ted Pincus, Business Columnist, Chicago Sun Times

Invent Your Retirement is just the kind of reference guide that our senior readers need. It provides content on every subject of interest as well as referencing where they can go to find more information. An absolute must-read not only for seniors, but also for younger people responsible for the well-being of senior family members. --Jim Moss, Publisher, The Times Herald-Record

About the Author

Art Koff graduated from Dartmouth College in 1957 and did postgraduate work at the University of Chicago Executive Program. He started his career with the Chicago Sun Times and then spent 31 years with national and international advertising agencies. After "retiring" he helped develop and market one of the first automated job-posting systems which was later acquired by a major player in the field. He also helped build a suite of over 1000 niche sites focused on recruiting. As a consultant and writer for the past nine years, he has helped clients develop cost effective strategies primarily by using the Internet to reach seniors and minorities. Art has made presentations at local, national, and international association meetings and at conventions and trade shows. He has made appearances on NBC and is a quoted authority on new developments in national publications and via the Web that affect seniors and retirees. Art lives in Chicago with his wife Normin and his two Westies, Spocker and Duncan.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Oakhill Press; 1st edition (January 15, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1886939764
• ISBN-13: 978-1886939769
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,461,858 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't retire without this book!, March 12, 2006

By 

Bruce Sloane - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Invent Your Retirement: Resources for the Good Life (Paperback)

If you are retired, close to retirement, or have family members or friends close to retirement, this book is for you. Author Art Koff (a senior who surely knows how to keep busy) has compiled a wealth of readable and informative material that covers almost every conceivable subject and question a senior or retiree can have.

Retirement, says Koff, doesn't mean sitting back in the rocking chair and watching the world pass you by. Seniors today have more choices and more opportunity than ever before. But a multitude of choices also means a multitude of questions. Are you puzzled about social security and health costs and insurance questions? Are you thinking of going back to work or volunteering? Do you want to learn how to use e-mail? Are you concerned about memory loss?

This book provides you with the answers to these and other questions. Koff has brought together information from numerous sources, including federal agencies such as the Social Security Administration and Medicare and the Departments of Agriculture, Labor, State, and the Food and Drug Administration, plus private individuals and organizations like the AARP and the Alzheimer's Association.

If you want to become computer literate and a proficient Internet user (and Koff strongly thinks seniors should do this), the book supplies an understandable computer primer. This gives specific commands to do everything from forwarding e-mail to playing music CDs to renaming Word documents.

You may not have thought about many of the topics Koff discusses, including protecting your credit, setting up your home office, the best employers for part-time workers, and choosing a pet. (Learn why Koff thinks long-haired cats are good choices for retirees.)

Throughout the book are numerous references, websites, addresses, and phone numbers to help you get more information. Presumably this material will be updated in future editions.

Invent Your Retirement is an invaluable and readable resource for seniors. Don't retire without it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Invent your Retirement" IS a great resource for the good life., April 13, 2006

By 

S. Ernst (Glendale, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Invent Your Retirement: Resources for the Good Life (Paperback)

As an RN I found Invent Your Retirement to be a very informative book. It is an excellent resource for those thinking about retirement as well as seniors who have already retired. The book is clearly written and provides concise information. We don't just stop when we retire. Art Koff understands this and explores ways seniors can stay intellectually active, keep health care coverage and medical costs down and, suggests places where seniors who want to work can apply to get part time or temporary employment. This book is filled with web sites that yield valuable information. It sensitively but thoroughly explores emotional issues such as assisted living, memory loss and, estate planning. It is very easy to read and is written is an uncomplicated and straightforward manner. I found it insightful and educational. I highly recommend it if you either are a senior, have a loved one who is a senior, or are approaching your retirement. I give it 5 stars.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Basic book for wanna-be retirees, October 12, 2008

By 

S. Guandalini (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Invent Your Retirement: Resources for the Good Life (Paperback)

This book covers the most fundamental questions that people thinking of retiring or just retired may want to know, such as where to relocate, cost of health care, new job opportunities, scams to avoid, etc.
It is written in plain, accessible language and uses large fonts (a nice touch!). It also relies heavily on listing websites that can be useful: this feature, while welcome by most, may however be a nuisance for the elderly who are not so familiar with "surfing the net".