Customer Reviews

The Wall Street Journal. Complete Retirement Guidebook: How to Plan It, Live It and Enjoy It

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

In the pharmaceutical world, there are "me too" drugs, which are brought to market by companies that want part of the action for a particular type of best-selling drug. The purpose of the new offering is not to bring something better to the market, or to bring something cheaper to the market, the purpose is to gain some market share of an already existing market.

This may be the primary reason behind the publication of this new book. Kiplinger's has had a book out there for more than a decade. It covers essentially the same ground. I'm sure that there are other books in this same survey category that I am not familiar with. The point is that this book turns out, at best, to be a "me too" book for the Journal.

But, what if that were not the case, and this book were to be judged on its own merit? Then what? An early question could be who is the book written for? My experience tells me that once folks are retired a year or so, they are past the point of seeking retirement advice from a book. The Kiplinger's book says that its focus is on ages 50-65 and for those who are "in or out of the workplace." This sounds like the audience is mostly pre-retirees. With that in mind, let's look at this new book, itself.

We're told that the book addresses "both money and time." Wisely, the "time" section come first; otherwise, like so many other high-level books on retirement, the financials might end up with more space than they should in the overall effort. At least the "time" section has a chance to shine if it goes first.

Unfortunately, the time section is not much of an "upper." Instead, it is filled with warning and negatives and much of the stuff that reinforces any anxiety someone might have about retirement before reading the book. We're told that any "assumption" that someone is going to like retirement better than work is "dangerous," especially for "people who have enjoyed their careers." And we're told about a couple for which "rest and relaxation didn't hold much appeal." Instead, these guys enter the wine business "in retirement." We're told that it was "nerve-wracking," that they end up with 15 employees and that they begin producing thousands of bottles of wine per year. We're told that this story is "encouraging." But what does it have to do with "retirement?"

Then we learn about another guy who tried retirement, but returns to the workplace, saying, "A huge piece of my life was totally gone." Then, another guy who retires from IBM, only to open a "small travel business." Define "small travel business." Sounds not like "retirement" to me.

But, alas, there is one paragraph in this "time" section that tells those of us who might want to embrace the "traditional" retirement, which it equates to playing golf all the time, having drinks before dinner and not much else, that this is just fine with the authors. However, it is quite obvious in my reading that this is NOT the recommended way to go.

In fact, the next chapter is all about working in retirement, of all things. It features many of the leading myths on the subject, such as "A number of studies have found that an overwhelming number of Baby Boomers expect to keep working in retirement." And we meet people for which work in retirement helps them pay their bills, or gets them medical insurance and even gets them "out of bed" in the morning. We're given advice on how to get and/or keep a job in retirement, including the use of life coaches and employment firms. This is about "retirement?"

We're well into the book by now, and it is getting painfully obvious that this is not really a book about the pleasures of retirement. No, next we'll get advice on volunteering in retirement, and relocating in retirement, the latter of which finds a way to give an early plug for long-term-care insurance, which will get a ton of coverage later. Then, we get a chapter on Health and Fitness, which takes the opportunity to tell us that the marketing folks at Fidelity Investments say that we're going to need more money than we could have possibly imagined just to cover our basic medical costs in retirement. And, we're told, "That estimate doesn't even include long-term care..." Bummer.

And this is the good news, folks. Now, we come to the second half, which is on the financials of retirement. And guess what? Now, we get to be scared about money! "The big risk, of course, is that your savings will expire before you do," we're told. And that in recent years financial planners have begun to say that we'll need 100 percent or more of our pre-retirement income in retirement, because we should expect expenses to increase, not decrease.

We're given an example of a couple's retirement budget that leaves them with some money for discretionary expenses, only after they have paid for, you may have guessed it, their long-term-care insurance premium.

But there is hope for retirement finances to work. The book suggests that we consider not stopping work or starting to work again in retirement and/or delaying social security benefits. This is hope? I thought this book was about retirement?

Next come chapters called "Assets and Buckets", "Pensions, 401(k)s and IRAs", "Social Security and Medicare", and, I kid you not, "Long-term-care Strategies," the latter of which begins with a horror story about a lady who, because she was quickly draining her savings, had to move into "a nursing home that took patients on Medicaid." Horrors of all horrors. And now we're told that "almost seventy percent of sixty-five-year-olds are projected to need some kind of long-term care." Who tells us this? "Health care researchers." Translation: The long-term-care industry.

But, I know, I'm hardly being fair about all of this. I mean, after the nice discount on the price you get by buying it via [...], there is surely value in this book. And there is. Lots of it. The last 14 pages of the book, for example, give us stories of 10 retirees who have found their version of "retirement" to be just great. Among them are the "ones who bought ranches out West and raised enus," and others who "purchased vineyards in Virginia and raised grapes," and others who "start businesses or they start teaching or they start competing in triathlons." There, I think that just about completes the list! I can't think of anything else. Can you?

But there I go again. Probably the biggest flaw in the book, beyond not bringing us much optimism or cheerfulness about life in retirement, is that it does not acknowledge that the majority of people do not have the luxury of planning their retirement. Life gets in the way, such as the leading causes for retirement: the job dries up and/or the health of the individual or a loved one forces the person to stop working full-time. The other major flaw is that it the authors' approach simply makes retirement sound, smell and look like work. For some that make all kinds of sense. For others it makes little or no sense. We're looking for something that does NOT sound, smell or look like work. We've been there and done that! And third, the obsession with long-term-care insurance is a real turnoff. That really has to go!

To finish, I really wish that I could give this book a better review. The authors are to be commended for the wealth of information they bring us via the Encore sections of the Wall Street Journal. But for those who want some inspiration and more hopeful advice about a future in retirement, I continue to recommend "The Joy of Not Working" and other books by author Ernie Zelinski.

Ruffenach and Greene have been writing about retirement issues for the WSJ for nearly a decade -- and this book reflects their deep knowledge of the subject. They realize how much retirement has changed in the last generation (this ain't your father's retirement) and their book is a great combination of the nuts and bolts stuff you need to know and the stories that make this a highly readable piece of journalism. So many retirement books focus on nothing but the financial aspects -- put away X dollars, buy this annuity, how to do a reverse mortgage, blah blah -- but Ruffenach and Greene have added the important elements of "Live It and Enjoy It." The result is worth adding to any bookshelf for people 40 - 80.

I hoped for a stronger content from the authors of The Wall Street Journal, but you can throw this one onto the heap of self help books that get bogged down by inane stories of lucky people. If I were the editor, I could have paired this book down to about 25 pages by just cutting out the fluff. Perhaps the folks at WSJ need to go back to journalism school to remind themselves of how to simplify the content.

Once I finally dug out the "golden nuggets" of wisdom, I was left with the feeling that I have heard it all before. Nothing earth shattering happening here. Nothing you could not discover free by heading over to the hundreds of web sites that deal with money and planning.

All in all, if you want to spend three hours reading about people doing things greater and more profitable than you, this is the book for you.

There are plenty of books on retirement on the market, but what makes The Wall Street Journal Complete Retirement Book stand out from the competition is its focus on how to plan financially and how to translate dreams into after-retirement reality. It comes from a Wall Street Journal editor whose bi-monthly guide to retirement planning pairs well with a Journal staff reporter expert on the same topic: together they show how to maximize profit and dreams alike, making this a top pick for any public library collection.

Diane C. Donovan

California Bookwatch

I have not read this book, but I am giving it five stars because I realized that all but one of the "one star" reviews were one on 27 and 28 November 2007, mostly by "licensed professionals." This is odd, as if a newsletter went to this community telling them to pan this publication (or maybe the same guy did them all under different names?). It just struck me as odd that these all happened on two consecutive days while the positive reviews were spread out over time.

When I first encountered this book about retirement from the Wall Street Journal, I suspected that it would provide some very helpful financial advice, and I was right. But it offers more than that. Actually, this book is quite balanced in its approach to what can be called the changing definition of retirement; an active lifestyle, with meaningful pursuits, which could possibly include continuing to work. The focus is about the life you want, and then figuring out how your finances will support it. I particularly liked the structure that was offered regarding issues to think about in the years before retiring and the practical advice about such issues as when to start taking social security. If you read the WSJ on a regualr basis, you probably know much of this already, but it is helpful to have it all together in one place. This book is a welcome addition to the retirement bookshelf.

John Trauth, Author, "Your Retirement, Your Way."

I have just finished reading this book and found it full of great advice and great examples. There are many real world examples from real people who are happy or unhappy with choices they made. I bought this book for the non-financial advice it contains and I am very happy. Every few pages it got my attention with something to think about. The financial advice is fine too; nothing objectionable there. This is an execllent first book about retirement. I would have paid twice the cover price for it.

I normally don't write book reviews, but am submitting this one because of the multiple negative reviews from people claiming to be financial advisors who gave the book low ratings, but do not provide specifics.

Context: I'm comfortably retired at 50 and an advanced investor. I also am estate manager for my mother, age 78. My spouse and I have already secured our retirement finances using a target of living financially secure up to age 100. Currently I am engaged in a home relocation study for our next life-phase of 55-75.

After reading most of the book, I agree with Diane Witt's comment that The New Retirement: Revised and Updated: The Ultimate Guide to the Rest of Your Life provides a broader look at retirement issues. It definitely provides a more detailed look at home relocation issues and opportunities. I also agree with other reviewers that it's not a "feel-good" book, but more of a business book in tone, discussing both retirement successes & failures.

However, the review comments about the financial advice being bad are total nonsense. The book provides a good overview of options and strategies, many of which I've used to preserve my mother's wealth (e.g. The 4% safe withdrawal rule), and does so in simple terms understandable to a person starting their own retirement planning. The section "Assets & Buckets" provides a good layman's overview of a central theme of Retirement Income Redesigned: Master Plans for Distribution: An Adviser's Guide for Funding Boomers' Best Years (Bloomberg Financial) , a continuing education text for Certified Financial Planners.

Admittedly, some of the material presented is oversimplified from an advanced investor standpoint, but the book was written for the intelligent layman, and explains the essentials clearly. Perhaps some financial advisors feel threatened that the book provides a good initial overview for a few dollars. I would recommend the book to people starting on path of doing their own financial planning for retirement. Disclosure: I've used wealth managers but not financial advisors because most have commission-based salaries and are pressured to sell certain products to their clients.

a little long on generalities in the first part of the book; some good and useful info in the kast half.

Not an instant solution to getting organized for retirement, but the book appears to have covered all bases leading up to and living through one's retirement years. This book is probably just the beginning step for retirement planning but definitely a useful reference.