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40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lives Up to the High Standards of Its Namesake, February 25, 2004
Introduction. Aiming to be a one-stop source for all things retirement related, the Retirement Bible largely succeeds in accomplishing its goal. Presenting sound and authoritative advice in a well-organized package, the book is appropriate for anyone at any age who is interested in planning for that important yet often neglected milestone in life: retirement.Traditional retirement plans. The book begins by covering the media-ignored pair consisting of Social Security and pension plans. Despite the chapter title of "Gambling on Social Security," the author takes an overall optimistic perspective on the matter, arguing that the system will still be around a century from now due to political forces. That being said, the recommendation is wisely made that the rising generation's "best strategy is to plan for less." On the subject of pensions, the author chastises the media for rarely mentioning the topic, even though almost half of private-sector workers still have them. Finding expert advice. The book next presents--in rather excruciating detail--a full three chapters on locating and using financial experts of various kinds. While the information is essentially useful, I felt the subject could have been covered in a single, pithy chapter. However, the author presented a well-formulated case for taking advantage of the experts. For most services, the author's apparent bias is toward the CFP designation, and fee-only planners are recommended. Common retirement vehicles. With a solid foundation to build upon, the retirement vehicles themselves are introduced, starting with 401(k)s. I particularly enjoyed the section titled "The Six Worst 401(k) Mistakes." It presented in no uncertain terms the landmines that can explode in one's face when dealing with this common retirement plan. Additionally, a great review was provided of the standards that a high quality 401(k) should meet. When it came to IRAs, I felt the author assumed too much foreknowledge on the part of her readers. She talked a great deal about IRAs but never quite said what they are. Likewise, the explanation of IRA rollovers was given too early and was confusing. I also found the separate chapter solely devoted to inherited IRAs to be unnecessary, overly specialized, and ultimately fruitless. Stocks and mutual funds. The Retirement Bible beautifully explains stock picking and its related jargon. It is mildly conservative and declares that market timing is a waste of time. In short, the advice is to "Buy and Hold and Hold and Hold." In one of the author's shining moments, she gives the best explanation I have ever read of how economic factors like interest rates and inflation affect the stock market. She further acknowledges that individual stock investing is not for everyone; nevertheless, thoughtful advice is provided on creating a balanced portfolio this way. As one thus might guess, the author raves about mutual funds. In particular, she expounds upon the virtues of index funds many times throughout the book. Mutual funds and other investments with high expense ratios are her greatest enemy, it seems, and on their heels are unnecessary taxes. Bonds. This area has always confused me, and the Retirement Bible was perfect on this point. It began at the ground level, stating that "a bond is an IOU." The book pointed out that guessing interest rate movements is essentially pointless and recommended laddering bonds. Rather than being content to leave bonds as the only fixed-income investment to choose from, the author also wisely discussed alternatives. Withdrawal tactics. In a smart move, the author sets up realistic expectations for her readers in saying that many assumptions must be made in planning for cashing in one's retirement funds. Unfortunately, to mitigate the uncertainty of retirement planning she goes overboard in repeatedly extolling the virtues of Monte Carlo simulations at least three times throughout the book. General comments. As alluded to above, the author's overall approach to investing is to be risk averse without being overly constrained. "Trying to outsmart the market is futile," she proclaims. While the subject is certainly debatable, I for one concur with her feelings. Likewise, I agree with the constant touting of index funds as the major core of a person's portfolio; I will follow this advice. Despite the reality that the author does "take sides" in certain instances, one of the Retirement Bible's strongest points is its simple and unbiased approach. In fact, the constant barrage of "Advantages of..." and "Disadvantages of..." sections almost becomes a cliché as one nears the book's end. As also mentioned earlier, the author sometimes assumes too much foreknowledge of her readers. In the chapter called "A Primer on Trusts," for example, the fundamental definition of the term trust is never provided. Additionally, some terminology is simply used in a confusing manner. The terms bond and fixed-income investment are frequently used as synonyms even after the author has just finished explaining how utilities, convertible securities, preferred stock, and REITs are types of fixed-income investments. Another interesting quirk I noticed about the book is a slight but noticeable bias toward recommending certain companies over and over. Specifically, these were Vanguard, Fidelity, and T. Rowe Price. While the ostensible reason for this practice is that these institutions are low-cost leaders in their field, I still found myself getting the feeling at times that other companies out there had to be offering some useful services, as well. Finally, the most major suggestion I would make to the author is to include a chapter that "ties things together," so to speak. At times, one feels as if stocks, funds, bonds, IRAs, 401(k)s, and the like are being discussed within a vacuum. I would have greatly enjoyed a chapter that brought the concepts together in a more meaningful manner than what is already provided. Conclusion. Though not a perfect book, the Retirement Bible for the most part lives up to its name. It covers a wide range of subjects while presenting simple, easy-to-follow advice that likely fits well with the risk profile of the average investor. It is, therefore, a fitting bible for retirement planning.
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by Robert C. Carlson
by Ed Slott
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