Your Complete Retirement Planning Road Map: A Comprehensive Action Plan for Securing IRAs, 401(k)s, and Other Retirement Plans for Yourself and Your Family (Paperback)

by Ed Slott (Author)
Key Phrases: required beginning date, net unrealized appreciation, required minimum distributions, Uncle Sam, Uniform Lifetime Table Appendix, Single Life Expectancy Table Appendix (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
“Ed Slott knows more about the care and feeding of IRAs than anybody else.”
–Newsday

“It would be tough to find anyone who knows more about IRAs than CPA Slott.”
–USA Today

“The best source of IRA advice.”
–The Wall Street Journal


From the Hardcover edition. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Review
“Ed Slott knows more about the care and feeding of IRAs than anybody else.”
–Newsday

“It would be tough to find anyone who knows more about IRAs than CPA Slott.”
–USA Today

“The best source of IRA advice.”
–The Wall Street Journal


From the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books (December 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345494563
• ISBN-13: 978-0345494566
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #22,373 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #13 in

  Books > Business & Investing > Personal Finance > Retirement Planning

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Retirement PLANNING, but Retirement ACCOUNTS, January 11, 2009

By	Searcher (Lakewood, CA) - See all my reviews

There are pros and cons with this book. The biggest "con" is the title. This book is not about Retirement Planning (Social Security, pensions, spending your time, health, long term care insurance, etc) but about Retirement Accounts (IRAs, Roths, 401k's) and everything you need to know about them. I think the title should have been "Your Complete Retirement Accounts Road Map".

With that out of the way, you should know that Ed Slott is an expert on these accounts and the writing is quite readable. This book does not talk about what to invest in, but rather the rules and options to consider for these accounts. About 1/3 of the book discusses the ownership of these accounts (accumulation and retirement distribution phases), 1/3 discusses inheriting these assets (which very few books talk about), and 1/3 talks about special cases, such as divorce, incapacity, early distributions, converting traditional IRAs to a Roth, etc. He talks about things that can go wrong and how to prevent them, from listing beneficiaries incorrectly to following up to see that the custodian (investment company) followed your instructions correctly. The emphasis is on IRAs, rather than 401k's since there are too many ways that a company can customize their 401k plan.

The reason I did not give this 5 stars is that possibly the presentation could be better. Each chapter has a checklist that often has items that point to other chapters for detailed info. There are also many Q&A boxes sprinkled throughout the text. Although the question and his answer are usually interesting, they break up the flow of the text.

Anyone who has significant assets in an IRA or hopes to some day should read this book, whether or not (s)he uses a financial adviser. There are topics mentioned that most people don't think about that should be discussed with the adviser and the reader will have a good background after reading this.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What an eye opener!, October 11, 2008

By	Mike (Midwest USA) - See all my reviews

I purchased this book after seeing Ed on a PBS station. Well written and very informative. IF you didn't realize how important it is to pay attention to your financial's for your family, this will point you in the right direction with the facts.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Looking for the "other" side of retirement?, August 24, 2008

By	Diana Witt (Omaha) - See all my reviews

This is great book for the financial aspects of retirement. But, if you'd like a book that contains not only information about money but all the other areas of retirement - relocation, working, travel, volunteering, psychological aspects, etc., get a copy of The New Retirement: Revised and Updated: The Ultimate Guide to the Rest of Your Life

I received The New Retirement as a birthday gift, and it has everything in it about retirement.