Retire Secure!: Pay Taxes Later The Key to Making Your Money Last as Long as You Do (Hardcover)

by James Lange (Author)
Key Phrases: applicable exclusion amount, minimum required distribution rules, single life table, Estate Planning, Social Security, The Distribution Years (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Retire Secure! is your playbook for winning the retirement game and beyond.  I highly recommend it to both consumers and professional financial advisors."
--Ed Slott, Author, Parlay Your IRA Into a Family Fortune

"Retire Secure! is a very practical investment guide on how to defer taxes and efficiently plan for retirement and your estate."
--Roger G. Ibbotson, Ph.D., Professor,Yale University, World leader in asset allocation, Chairman, Ibbotson Assoc.

"Every retiree should read Jim Lange’s chapter on Spend the Right Funds First!"
--Gregory Kolojeski, President of Brentmark Software

"…Jim delves into topics that few lay people are aware of and most professionals don’t address. Protect yourself and your family with the excellent comments of Retire Secure!"
--Martin M. Shenkman, Attorney, CPA, MBA Author, Inherit More

"Retire Secure! shows you how to make your money last longer and go further than you ever imagined possible."
--BRIAN TRACY, Strategic Planner Author, Something for Nothing

"Retire Secure! does a fine job of explaining why, when and how folks should move money into, out of, and between the myriad tax-advantaged employer-sponsored retirement savings plans and IRAs. The key points are summarized clearly, but a more thorough, equally clear explanation is also offered for those who want it.

The book is well-organized, with plenty of practical examples.  It will be a valuable resource to people in both the accumulation and distribution of their retirement assets - and to their advisors, as well."
--Michael T. Palermo, Attorney, Certified Financial Planner™ Author, AARP Crash Course in Estate Planning

"The frequent mini-case studies throughout Retire Secure! are very beneficial.  They help give readers a full understanding of a complicated topic and how to apply that topic to their own situation."
--Paul Richard, RFC Exec. Director Institute of Consumer Financial Education

"I hope this book will be a blessing for readers"
--Rev. Dr. Robert H. Schuller, Minister, The Hour of Power Author, If it is Going to Be it is Up to Me

"Jim offers the best advice I’ve read on making your dollars go the longest distance, for you and your loved ones."
--John A. Tracy, Ph.D., CPA Author, Accounting for Dummies

"Keeping your investment expenses low and following Jim Lange’s tax savings strategies are the surest routes to a comfortable retirement."
--Burton G. Malkiel, Ph.D. Professor of Economics, Princeton University Author, A Random Walk Down Wall Street

"Nice girls eventually become old women who want to retire. Let this book help you to ensure you have all the money you need to live your life the way you want at retirement."
--LOIS P. FRANKEL, Ph.D. Author, Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich: 75 Avoidable Mistakes Women Make with Money

"I recommend Retire Secure! above all other books on retirement planning.  No other work features the famous Lange’s Cascading Beneficiary Plan™."
--Norman G. Levine, CLU, ChFC , RFC Author, A Passion for Compassion and Selling With Silk Gloves

"James Lange is a genius at making the most difficult subject of estate/retirement planning easy to understand. His book is an absolute must for anyone who wants the peace of mind that comes from knowing they will retire secure."
--ELEANOR SCHANO Former TV News Anchor Host “LifeQuest” WQED Multimedia

Praise for Retire Secure!—Geared Towards Professionals

"We recognize Retire Secure! by tax attorney Jim Lange of Pittsburgh PA, as the most definitive work available.  We have rated this volume as the most complete and the most authoritative retirement guide serving our industry."
--Fred R. Kissling, CLU, MSPA, AEP, RF Publisher, Financial Services Advisor magazine

"More than useful, Retire Secure! is an absolute essential for advisors because it helps you best deal with the many risks involved. Attorney James Lange did most of the difficult planning work for you."
--Louisa M. Montecalvo, CEP, CCPS College Advisors Group, LLC

"Jim created the most flexible and effective estate guide for IRA and retirement plan owners."
--Charles “Tremendous” Jones, RFC CEO, Executive Books International speaker, sales trainer Author, Life Is Tremendous

"Every financial advisor ought to have a copy of Retire Secure! at his or her fingertips, plus copies to give more serious clients.   After clients have been taught how to save and where to place their investments, James Lange's book, Retire Secure! is the definitive answer to the very important tax considerations."
--Vernon D. Gwynne, CFP, RFC Former Executive Director of the IAFP now FPA

"Distribution planning is where every financial advisor needs to be who is serious about helping clients and getting their professional practice to the next level."
--Peter M. Vessenes, RFC Author, Building Your Multi-Million Dollar Practice

"Retire Secure! will help provide the education that financial advisors need to reduce their potential liabilities."
--Jerry Reiter, CEO/Chairman Financial Advisors Legal Association

"Retire Secure! is one of the best educational tools and reference manuals ever available! Retire Secure! serves as a text for a comprehensive financial planning course on retirement. Retire Secure! will certainly have a long shelf life."
--Al Coletti, CLU, ChFC, RFC Chairman, Institute for Financial Education

"Retire Secure! is absolutely "essential" reading for all practitioners in the estate and retirement planning field."
--Jack Gargan, Founder Intl. Assoc. of Registered Financial Consultants (IARFC)

"Jim Lange's book is a must in the retirement library of anyone with a large IRA.  Not only does it provide thorough coverage of a difficult topic, but it does so with crisp writing, surrounded with charts and tables to help you understand your options."
--Robert S. Keebler, CPA, MST Editor in Chief, Journal of Retirement Planning Author, A CPA’s Guide to the New IRAs

"Only in Retire Secure! will you learn how to better accumulate wealth in a logical, realistic, practical, and legally structured (protected) way.  You will also learn when trusts in estate planning documents can be a disaster!"
--Lew Nason, RFC Speaker, Marketing Consultant / Insurance Pro Shop

Additional testimonials (37 and counting) available at www.RetireSecure.com/testimonial

Product Description
Retire Secure! tackles the number one fear facing most IRA and retirement plan owners:  running out of money too soon. Lange, a nationally recognized IRA expert, offers specific and practical strategies to successfully navigate the three stages of retirement planning: accumulation, distribution, and estate planning.

Retire Secure! explains the tax advantages and long term wealth building strategies of selectively and strategically putting money into IRAs, Roth IRAs, 401(k)s, Roth 401(k)s and the myriad other retirement plan options available to individuals working in the corporate world, the non-profit sector, as well as individual proprietors. The book proves that putting money into tax advantaged retirement plans beats “traditional saving” in the after-tax environment.

The book sheds new light on best practices for spending your IRA and retirement plan dollars and your traditional savings. Many readers will be surprised to discover that the order in which assets are spent is not a trivial consideration—it can make or break the bank.

It also outlines Lange’s exceptional estate plan–a plan that has been featured in the Wall Street Journal and many other fine financial journals.

The book offers financial planning strategies and tactics in plain English that everyone can understand—and using humor and interesting characters in real life situations the book escapes the dreaded dry financial tome tone. For example, Chapter 1 offers a great mini case study that charts the financial destiny of Mr. Pay Taxes Later and Mr. Pay Taxes Now. Both start saving when they are age 30, but when Mr. Pay Taxes Now reaches age 90, he is broke, while Mr. Pay Taxes Later has $1,946,949 left. Chapter 8 is devoted to a complete case study of “Eddie’s and Emily’s” entire retirement decision making process.

The book is endorsed by more than 31 leading financial experts including Charles Schwab, and Roger G. Ibbotson, Yale Professor and perhaps the world’s foremost authority on asset allocation. As a bonus, readers who purchase this book can receive a free information-packed CD.

"Retire Secure! is your playbook for winning the retirement game and beyond. It shows you how to capitalize on little known provisions of the tax law that will make your retirement savings last several lifetimes, leveraging your hard earned money into a family legacy. Best of all, you can rely on the advice here since it is written by one of the nation's leading retirement tax planning authorities.” Ed Slott, Author Parlay Your IRA into a Family Fortune and

The Retirement Savings Time Bomb…and How to Defuse It

James Lange (Pittsburgh, PA) , an attorney and CPA, is a nationally known IRA, 401(k), and retirement plan distribution expert with over 27 years of experience. His recommendations have appeared 23 times in theWall Street Journal as well as the New York Times, Newsweek, Kiplinger’s, and many other prestigious financial publications.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; illustrated edition edition (August 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470043547
• ISBN-13: 978-0470043547
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #452,791 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kudos from someone who should know, August 8, 2006

By	Michael Palermo (Lexington, Kentucky) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As an attorney & author of "The AARP Crash Course in Estate Planning," I was asked by James Lange to review Retire Secure! several months ago. I've never met Jim, and agreed only reluctantly - but I'm glad I did. First, let me assure everyone: you certainly don't have to be a lawyer to understand Jim's writing.

Jim has done a fine job of explaining why, when and how folks should move money into, out of, and between the myriad tax-advantaged, employer-sponsored retirement savings plans and individual retirement accounts. The key points are summarized clearly, but a more thorough, equally clear explanation is also offered for those who want it.

The book is well-organized, with plenty of practical examples. It will be a valuable resource to people in both the accumulation and distribution of their retirement assets - and to their advisors, as well.

Many people find retirement planning intimidating simply because of the sheer number of rules and options that must be considered. Retire Secure! lays them all out in a logical and easy-to-follow format.

That's the key for anyone trying to understand this subject. Retire Secure! should be a cornerstone of everyone's personal financial planning library.

Mike Palermo, JD, CFP

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Retire Secure-Solid Advice For All, October 20, 2006

By	Mike Maher (Saltsburg, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Reading "Retire Secure" will not alone make you rich. However, if you read and follow Mr. Lange's advice, you will build wealth and then protect it to the fullest extent possible. The book outlines a very clear path to maximize savings using the most effective vehicle available to you. Then it goes on to provide a thorough roadmap to minimizing your tax consequences and maximizing your after tax returns. Finally the book provides several different strategies for passing along wealth to your heirs while once again factoring in the greedy hands of Uncle Sam. The author not only provides you with the theory, as many financial planners do, but backs up his recommendations with solid proofs and confirms them with amusing case studies. Overall this book is an excellent source for information on the use of retirement funds for wealth building and hopefully inheritance to pass on.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Harness the Power of Your Retirement Plan!, August 14, 2006

By	Scuba Diver (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

James Lange's "Retire Secure" is a superb example of why positioning assets correctly--i.e. pay taxes later--is so vital to retirement. Lange encourages readers to harness the power of tax-free/tax-deferred growth by maximizing their contributions to individual retirement accounts (both Traditional and Roth) as well as 401k plans. Through the use of numerous illustrations and specific age-related examples Lange clearly identifies the exponential growth potential that is possible by choosing to maximize retirement contributions and the obvious advantages of starting early. My one detraction on this work is the minimal mention of the use of real estate, especially provisions of the 1031 exchange that would surely compliment the philosophy of maximizing retirement savings growth. All in all though, a great job of bringing into focus the value of contributing more, earlier, and ultimately establishing a portfolio to pay taxes later. Well done, a solid 4-Star work!