Product Description

Praise for THE NEW RULES OF RETIREMENT

"As a Wharton graduate, money manager, Chief Financial Officer, and Certified Financial Analyst, I didn't think I needed help in making investment choices and planning for my retirement. I was wrong. I have been a subscriber to Retirement Watch since 1997. I trust Bob Carlson completely and follow his investment, tax, and planning advice personally."
--Sandy Kagan, CFA
CFO Partner, Tatum Partners

"A clear, practical, and wisely unconventional guide to the new world of retirement."
--Humberto Cruz
Nationally syndicated financial columnist, Tribune Media Services

"Bob Carlson does a magnificent job preparing readers for the many challenging issues they will face over the next several decades. Retirees can no longer count on generous asset returns and employer-provided defined benefit plans. Bob provides readers with creative approaches for contending with these challenges to help ensure financially and emotionally secure 'freedom years'."
--Lawrence E. Kochard, PhD, CFA
Chief Investment Officer, Georgetown University

"Bob Carlson shows that three trends--demographics (baby boomers), increasing longevity, and fewer offspring--have changed forever the landscape facing America's retirees. Stereotype retirement based on Social Security and employer pensions is out; making ends meet on your own is in. Better get yourself ready--and you can do so by reading this book."
--James C. Miller III
Former U.S. Budget Director, Chairman of The CapAnalysis Group, LLC

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #98100 in Books
• Published on: 2004-11-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

Download Description
Proven, profitable, and unique strategies for achieving a financially secure retirement In this step-by-step financial program for retirement, nationally recognized retirement expert Bob Carlson explains why people will need more money than they think during their upcoming retirement, then shows them how to use innovative and carefully researched strategies along with all of their assets to ensure financial security throughout their retirement years. In a world in which a long, comfortable retirement has become more difficult to achieve than ever, with workers uncertain of who they can trust, The New Rules of Retirement is both beneficial and reassuring. Robert C. Carlson, JD, CPA (Fairfax, Va.), is Editor of Retirement Watch, a monthly newsletter. The managing member of Carlson Wealth Advisors, LLC, Carlson is also Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Fairfax County Employees Retirement System, which manages $2 billion in assets, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Virginia Retirement System, which manages $40 billion in assets. He has published a number of research papers and has been quoted in numerous publications, including Money, Barrons, Readers Digest, the Washington Post, and others.

From the Inside Flap
Retirement is an opportunity to do the things you could never find the time for while you were working. It's a chance to plan how you really want to spend the rest of your life. But to take advantage of retirement opportunities, you have to plan and prepare. Most of all, you need to know the new rules of retirement planning.

Today, an unstoppable force known as the Age Wave is transforming the face of retirement. This wave, which is fueled by a historically large generation that is past midlife; longer life expectancy; and a low population replacement rate, will threaten the safety and comfort of your retirement—unless you adapt to the changes brought about by these new trends.

In The New Rules of Retirement, nationally recognized retirement expert Robert Carlson will show you how to incorporate the Age Wave into your retirement planning process and teach you proven, profitable, and unique strategies for achieving a financially secure retirement. He'll explain why you should be prepared to save more than past retirees have and how to use the new rules for investing. He'll also reveal why you might not receive as much help from Social Security, Medicare, and your former employer as you might think.

Filled with in-depth insight and practical advice, The New Rules of Retirement:

• Explores the financial concerns of retirees and preretirees and how they are affected by certain trends
• Examines how to estimate retirement spending and how much money should be accumulated for retirement
• Discusses health care options and how to pay for long-term care
• Reveals how to invest before and during retirement
• Illustrates how to plan an estate, cut taxes, and provide for loved ones
• Manage your IRA more effectively

You can have the retirement you desire. But you must act now to stay ahead of the rapid changes that are taking place. Even if you're currently retired, you should continue to plan and prepare. With The New Rules of Retirement as your guide, you'll learn how to live life to the fullest in the new world of retirement.

From the Back Cover
Praise for THE NEW RULES OF RETIREMENT

"As a Wharton graduate, money manager, Chief Financial Officer, and Certified Financial Analyst, I didn't think I needed help in making investment choices and planning for my retirement. I was wrong. I have been a subscriber to Retirement Watch since 1997. I trust Bob Carlson completely and follow his investment, tax, and planning advice personally."
—Sandy Kagan, CFA
CFO Partner, Tatum Partners

"A clear, practical, and wisely unconventional guide to the new world of retirement."
—Humberto Cruz
Nationally syndicated financial columnist, Tribune Media Services

"Bob Carlson does a magnificent job preparing readers for the many challenging issues they will face over the next several decades. Retirees can no longer count on generous asset returns and employer-provided defined benefit plans. Bob provides readers with creative approaches for contending with these challenges to help ensure financially and emotionally secure 'freedom years'."
—Lawrence E. Kochard, PhD, CFA
Chief Investment Officer, Georgetown University

"Bob Carlson shows that three trends—demographics (baby boomers), increasing longevity, and fewer offspring—have changed forever the landscape facing America's retirees. Stereotype retirement based on Social Security and employer pensions is out; making ends meet on your own is in. Better get yourself ready—and you can do so by reading this book."
—James C. Miller III
Former U.S. Budget Director, Chairman of The CapAnalysis Group, LLC

Customer Reviews

The New Rules of Retirment
This book had more detail on taxes and its effect on planning consequences then I have seen in other books. It have useful information on retirement calculators, and health coverage. Overall this book was more usable to me than some others I have read. It's easy to read and understand. It enlightened me on some points that I had not thought of such as doing your homework on moving to a different location, living and renting in a location where you want to go. You might end up not wanting to move there.

Agree with 90% of the recommendations
Over-all, this is a very thorough review of the rules of retirement.

I am a believer in the passive index fund approach to investing as opposed to the actively managed approach.

Carlson advocates 3 levels of investments for the accumulation phase, and all 3 are based on an active versus passive management approach. The first level is his Core level and he recommends actively managed value stock funds.....or actively managed balanced funds (stocks and bonds) like Vanguard's Wellington. I think most investors would be better
served using a combination of Vanguard's Total Stock Market and Total Bond Market funds for this core portfolio. The ratio of stocks to bonds depends on the investor's risk tolerance, as well as their need to take risk. Using Vanguard's passively managed index funds versus Carlson's actively managed approach should result in higher returns to the investor because of the lower annual expenses of the index funds.

Carlson recommends large cap value funds because his theory is that in retirement....retirees can give up some returns in exchange for lower chances in the portfolio declining with value stocks. The Fama-French 3 factor study would suggest that large cap value stocks will outperform all large cap stocks....if history repeats itself in the future. If you believe that history will repeat itself, you could choose a Vanguard large cap value index fund instead of the Total Stock Market fund.

Carlson's other 2 levels of portfolios focus on trying to pick in advance, which asset classes are currently not over-valued.....or be really aggressive and take on high risks with private equity funds. These two strategies are high risk and I know of no long term data which supports this approach performing better than a simple index fund approach. I don't believe either of these 2 strategies is appropriate for most investors.

Bengen's and Bierwirth's studies back in 1994 were seminal events in financial planning in that they found 4% was the maximum SWR (Safe Withdrawal Rate). If the stock market experiences a prolonged drop early in a retirement period, SWR's higher than 4% will cause the retiree to exhaust his portfolio before this death.

In 1998, the Trinity Study also found the same basic results as Bengen and Bierwirth.....and recommended a maximum SWR of 4%.

I have read about some mechanical rules which suggest that you can withdraw more than 4% if you spend less money in years the stock market is down, and more money when it is up. Carlson suggests the Yale distribution rule....in which 30% of the annual distribution is based upon portfolio value. I had not heard of this specific rule before, and I will have to do some Monte Carlo analysis to determine its effectiveness.


I found the book easy to read.....and I agree with his recommendations except for the construction of his investment portfolios.

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Warnings with hope and answers
As the author of a similar book entitled, "When Can I Tell My Boss, I Quit!," I offer Mr. Carlson the highest compliment: I used his book in the research for my book. He alerts the reader to impending problems facing the new retirees but also offers many solid and creative solutions. Mr. Carlson's book is well researched and thorough but easy to read. I've re-read it several times to answer questions I have.