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6 reviews for:
How to Retire Happy: The 12 Most Important Decisions You Must Make Before You Retire
Stan Hinden
3.25 AVERAGE
6 reviews for:
How to Retire Happy: The 12 Most Important Decisions You Must Make Before You Retire
Stan Hinden
3.25 AVERAGE
One of the few books that IMHO completely cover the topic of retirement as the author experienced it. It is like talking to a good friend who has been retired for a number of years and he is sharing his experiences and giving you useful and impartial advice.
Overall, I would recommend the book and feel it is worth your time to understand all the good and bad about retirement. I have learned that planning your retirement is almost a requirement and you cannot just wing it. Even if you have plenty of money, retirement is may more then a financial number in your bank account.
Overall, I would recommend the book and feel it is worth your time to understand all the good and bad about retirement. I have learned that planning your retirement is almost a requirement and you cannot just wing it. Even if you have plenty of money, retirement is may more then a financial number in your bank account.
This book is about 60% the author's personal retirement experience (He was a sports reporter who retired in the 1980's) and about 40% conceptual information. The book has 12 subjects:
1. Am I [psychologically] ready to retire?
2. Can I adfford to retire?
3. When should I apply for Social Security?
4. How should I take my pension payments?
5. What should I do with my money in my company savings plan?
6. When do I have to take moneybout of my IRAs? [BTW, 71 1/2 yrs old to avoid big penalties]
7. How should I invest during retirement?
8. What should I do about health insurance?
9. What should I do to prepare for an illness that requires long-term care?
10. Where do I want to live after I retire?
11. How should I arrange my estate to save on taxes and avoid probate?
12. How can I age successfully?
I ended up skipping several chapters that did not apply to my situation. This books was not particularly useful to me personally as my state job defines a lot of this with zero wiggle room for me; however, it is always beneficial to hear someone else's experience with a process I face. To that end, this was valuable.
I will say that this book seemed a bit dated at times, like getting retirement advice from Don Draper. For example, in the tenth chapter he assures the reader that, once you have moved to a new community, the welcome wagon invitations will come rolling in and you will be awash in offers for canasta parties and Rotary shindigs. I am not sure my Gen-X crowd even knows what those things are. I suppose online meet-ups will cover the same purpose.
1. Am I [psychologically] ready to retire?
2. Can I adfford to retire?
3. When should I apply for Social Security?
4. How should I take my pension payments?
5. What should I do with my money in my company savings plan?
6. When do I have to take moneybout of my IRAs? [BTW, 71 1/2 yrs old to avoid big penalties]
7. How should I invest during retirement?
8. What should I do about health insurance?
9. What should I do to prepare for an illness that requires long-term care?
10. Where do I want to live after I retire?
11. How should I arrange my estate to save on taxes and avoid probate?
12. How can I age successfully?
I ended up skipping several chapters that did not apply to my situation. This books was not particularly useful to me personally as my state job defines a lot of this with zero wiggle room for me; however, it is always beneficial to hear someone else's experience with a process I face. To that end, this was valuable.
I will say that this book seemed a bit dated at times, like getting retirement advice from Don Draper. For example, in the tenth chapter he assures the reader that, once you have moved to a new community, the welcome wagon invitations will come rolling in and you will be awash in offers for canasta parties and Rotary shindigs. I am not sure my Gen-X crowd even knows what those things are. I suppose online meet-ups will cover the same purpose.
How to Retire Happy: The 12 Most Important Decisions You Must Make Before You Retire by Stan Hinden
Interesting to learn all the facts and things you should be doing before you retire. Some things such as long term health care and
the different part supplement programs to Medicare and even when to retire and start taking the SSI funds is very confusing but something we all have to go through.
Lots of resources are quoted for further reading and this book is updated about every 2 years because of all the new things that have come into play.
Also examples of what could happen with/without a plan.
Received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
Interesting to learn all the facts and things you should be doing before you retire. Some things such as long term health care and
the different part supplement programs to Medicare and even when to retire and start taking the SSI funds is very confusing but something we all have to go through.
Lots of resources are quoted for further reading and this book is updated about every 2 years because of all the new things that have come into play.
Also examples of what could happen with/without a plan.
Received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
One of those books that I couldn't read straight through and had to peruse in sections. Some good info presented by the man who has travelled down the road I'm going to be going. However, it's still all quite confusing and still overwhelming. He gives a pretty good explanation of Medicare with all its incomprehensible rules, etc..
Felt dated. Too much emphasis on pensions. Also seemed like author didn't have good investment knowledge/advice.
Conversational and autobiographical in tone. ("Here's what I did" for old people.)