Product Description

Corporate pensions are disappearing. Social Security is in trouble. And the sizable postwar generation is reaching retirement age. With the futures of millions of Americans at stake, Ed Slott, the country’s foremost retirement planning adviser, now offers expert advice on weathering the perfect storm of financial instability that looms on the horizon. Your Complete Retirement Planning Road Map provides clear step-by-step directions through the highways and byways of IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and other major accounts.

In five focused sections, Slott combines crucial facts with checklists and questionnaires to teach investors and beneficiaries alike the best way to save and to maximize an inheritance. Inside you’ll discover

• an overview of every retirement savings account you own–from what it is and where it is to who gets it and how, plus where to put important data
• how to properly fill out retirement account beneficiary forms so that money goes to whomever you choose and not to relatives who pop up out of nowhere
• what to do when you inherit so that you won’t lose any tax benefits or make a mistake that could wipe out an inherited fortune that took years to build up
• how to handle out-of-the-box issues such as divorce or incapacity; tax issues for unmarried partners; decisions about trusts
• how to determine whether your professional retirement adviser is really up to the task of preserving and protecting your money
• the most up-to-date information on tax laws, including the Pension Protection Act, which provides major new retirement incentives that you can take advantage of

Your Complete Retirement Planning Road Map is an indispensable planning solution that is sure to become the standard how-to on a complex subject that is becoming relevant to more people every day.

“IRA savant Ed Slott [helps] you make the most of your retirement earnings or inherited account.”
–USA Today

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

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22110 in Books
• Published on: 2007-12-26
• Released on: 2007-12-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780345494566
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

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.

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.

About the Author
Ed Slott is a nationally recognized retirement account expert and a professional speaker at conferences nationwide. He hosts www.irahelp.com, which provides retirement resources for both consumers and professional advisors. He created Ed Slott’s Elite IRA Advisor Group, an exclusive registry of financial advisors. Slott is the author of Parlay Your IRA into a Family Fortune and The Retirement Savings Time Bomb and How to Defuse It. He publishes “Ed Slott’s IRA Advisor,” a monthly newsletter for financial professionals. He is a frequent contributor to The New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Time, Newsweek, Fortune, Forbes, Money, and USA Today, and has appeared on all major networks. He lives on Long Island.


From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews

Not Retirement PLANNING, but Retirement ACCOUNTS
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.

What an eye opener!
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.

Like most finacial guides just a taste...
Like most financial guides a lot of fluff and low on details. Almost every other sentence is consult with a professional...
We don't buy these books for generalizations and common sense information. We buy them for details that we can't find elsewhere. To use the roadmap analogy, this book is like using a single sheet US Roadmap to plan a hike through the northwest forests.