The Hard Times Guide to Retirement Security: Practical Strategies for Money, Work, and Living

Book description

Praise for The Hard Times Guide to Retirement Security

"I can't think of a single colleague, friend, or loved one who wouldn't benefit enormously from reading Mark Miller's smart and lively guide no matter how far away they are, or think they are, from retirement. Personally, I only wish he had written it sooner."

Eric Effron, Executive Editor, The Week

"One of the sharpest observers on retirement, Miller offers instructive ideas to help readers address the challenges they'll face in the years ahead."

Eric Schurenberg, Editorial Director, CBS MoneyWatch.com

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. Additional Praise for: The Hard Times Guide to Retirement Security: Practical Strategies for Money, Work, and Living
  3. Acknowledgments
  4. 1. Rethinking Retirement in Hard Times
    1. 1.1. Money
      1. 1.1.1. Social Security
      2. 1.1.2. Pensions
      3. 1.1.3. Income Annuities
      4. 1.1.4. Recalibrating Portfolios
      5. 1.1.5. Health Care
      6. 1.1.6. Taxes
      7. 1.1.7. Real Estate
      8. 1.1.8. Advice
    2. 1.2. Work
      1. 1.2.1. Work Longer, Not Forever
      2. 1.2.2. Corporate America after Age 50
      3. 1.2.3. Job Hunting
      4. 1.2.4. Starting a Business
    3. 1.3. Living
      1. 1.3.1. Encore Careers
      2. 1.3.2. Volunteering and Public Service
      3. 1.3.3. Lifelong Learning
    4. 1.4. Chapter Notes
  5. I. Money
    1. 2. The Great Wake-Up Call
      1. 2.1. Resources
      2. 2.2. Chapter Notes
    2. 3. Getting the Most from Social Security
      1. 3.1. Is Social Security in Trouble?
      2. 3.2. Maximizing Your Benefits
      3. 3.3. Understanding Spousal Benefits
        1. 3.3.1. Spousal Benefit
        2. 3.3.2. Survivor Benefit
      4. 3.4. Paying Attention
      5. 3.5. Resources
        1. 3.5.1. Applying for Social Security
        2. 3.5.2. Estimating Your Benefits
        3. 3.5.3. Further Reading
      6. 3.6. Chapter Notes
    3. 4. The Old-Fashioned Pension on Life Support
      1. 4.1. Safety
        1. 4.1.1. Plan Sponsor Types
        2. 4.1.2. Benefit Types
      2. 4.2. What You'll Get and When
        1. 4.2.1. Lump Sums Versus Lifetime Payout
      3. 4.3. Resources
        1. 4.3.1. U.S. Department of Labor
        2. 4.3.2. Pension Rights Center
        3. 4.3.3. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
        4. 4.3.4. Rest-of-Life Communications
      4. 4.4. Chapter Notes
    4. 5. Income Annuities Another Way to Get a Guarantee
      1. 5.1. The Role of an Income Annuity
      2. 5.2. Sorting Out the Annuity Market
      3. 5.3. How Much Should You Annuitize?
        1. 5.3.1. Income-Annuity Options
      4. 5.4. Safety
      5. 5.5. Taxes
      6. 5.6. Chapter Notes
    5. 6. Resuscitating the 401(k)
      1. 6.1. How We Got Here
      2. 6.2. What Now?
      3. 6.3. Younger Investors
      4. 6.4. At or Near Retirement Age
      5. 6.5. Chapter Notes
    6. 7. Managing Your Health-Care Expense Burden
      1. 7.1. Health-Care Risk: A Closer Look
      2. 7.2. When You're 65: Welcome to Medicare
        1. 7.2.1. Part A: Hospital Coverage
        2. 7.2.2. Part B: Medical Coverage
      3. 7.3. How Will Medicare Change in the Years Ahead?
      4. 7.4. Health-Care Shocks: The Preretirement Years
        1. 7.4.1. COBRA
      5. 7.5. Long-Term Care
      6. 7.6. Resources
        1. 7.6.1. Medicare
        2. 7.6.2. COBRA
      7. 7.7. Chapter Notes
    7. 8. Taxes and Retirement
      1. 8.1. Walking Out the Door: Pension Decisions
      2. 8.2. Required Minimum Distributions
      3. 8.3. Roth IRAs
      4. 8.4. Social Security and Medicare Taxes
      5. 8.5. Resources
        1. 8.5.1. Roth IRAs
        2. 8.5.2. Required Minimum Distributions
        3. 8.5.3. Social Security and Taxes
      6. 8.6. Chapter Notes
    8. 9. Coping with Post-Bubble Real Estate
      1. 9.1. The Real Estate Wake-Up Call
      2. 9.2. Aging in Place
      3. 9.3. Universal Design
      4. 9.4. High-Tech Aging
      5. 9.5. Age-Friendly Communities: The Beacon Hill Village Model
      6. 9.6. Moving and Downsizing
      7. 9.7. Reverse Mortgages
      8. 9.8. Resources
        1. 9.8.1. Reverse Mortgages
        2. 9.8.2. Universal Design
        3. 9.8.3. Intentional Communities
      9. 9.9. Chapter Notes
    9. 10. How to Hire a Financial Adviser
      1. 10.1. Alphabet Soup
      2. 10.2. Hiring an Adviser
      3. 10.3. Resources
        1. 10.3.1. Finding a Planner
        2. 10.3.2. Due Diligence
        3. 10.3.3. Preparation
      4. 10.4. Chapter Notes
  6. II. Work
    1. 11. How Working Longer Helps
      1. 11.1. Fraying Thread No. 1: Social Security
      2. 11.2. Fraying Thread No. 2: Pensions and Retirement Savings
      3. 11.3. Fraying Thread No. 3: Health Benefits
      4. 11.4. Fraying Thread No. 4: Housing
      5. 11.5. How Working Longer Helps
      6. 11.6. Resources
      7. 11.7. Chapter Notes
    2. 12. The Fifty-Plus Job Market: Good News, Bad News
      1. 12.1. The Good News
      2. 12.2. The Bad News
      3. 12.3. Chapter Notes
    3. 13. Six Rules for Job Hunting
      1. 13.1. Job Hunting
      2. 13.2. Rule No. 1: Package Yourself as a Solution
      3. 13.3. Rule No. 2: Skill Development Matters
      4. 13.4. Rule No. 3: Network, Network, Network
      5. 13.5. Rule No. 4: Make the Cultural Connection
      6. 13.6. Rule No. 5: Second Verse—Not the Same as the First
      7. 13.7. Rule Number 6: Practice Interviewing
      8. 13.8. Resources
      9. 13.9. Chapter Notes
    4. 14. Fifty-Plus Entrepreneurs Launching a Lifestyle Business
      1. 14.1. Another View of Risk
      2. 14.2. Finding the Right Idea
      3. 14.3. Taking the Leap: Steve Vernon
      4. 14.4. Taking the Leap: Al Brown
      5. 14.5. Resources
        1. 14.5.1. Self-Assessment Tools
        2. 14.5.2. Franchising
      6. 14.6. Further Reading
      7. 14.7. Chapter Notes
    5. 15. How to Hire a Career Coach
      1. 15.1. Group Retreats and Boot Camps
      2. 15.2. Support Networks
      3. 15.3. Life Coaches
      4. 15.4. Career Counselors
      5. 15.5. Resources
      6. 15.6. Further Reading
      7. 15.7. Chapter Notes
  7. III. Living
    1. 16. Making a Difference Encore Careers
      1. 16.1. Teaching
      2. 16.2. Health Care
      3. 16.3. The Federal Government
      4. 16.4. Green Careers
      5. 16.5. Not-for-Profit Careers
      6. 16.6. Resources
      7. 16.7. Further Reading
      8. 16.8. Chapter Notes
    2. 17. Volunteering in Retirement Getting Engaged
      1. 17.1. Donna Miller: Learning to Appreciate Small Changes
      2. 17.2. Jeri Leedy: "Be Selfish about It"
      3. 17.3. Volunteering Abroad
      4. 17.4. From a Bookstore to the Border of Tibet
      5. 17.5. The Peace Corps
      6. 17.6. Resources
        1. 17.6.1. Volunteering in the United States
        2. 17.6.2. Volunteering Abroad
      7. 17.7. Further Reading
      8. 17.8. Chapter Notes
    3. 18. Learning and the Path to Brain Fitness
      1. 18.1. The Landscape
      2. 18.2. A Politician Learns Some New Tricks
      3. 18.3. Creativity, Learning, and Positive Aging
      4. 18.4. Writing the Great American Novel
      5. 18.5. Resources
      6. 18.6. Further Reading
      7. 18.7. Chapter Notes
    4. About the Author

Product information

  • Title: The Hard Times Guide to Retirement Security: Practical Strategies for Money, Work, and Living
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: June 2010
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781576603628