When you think about retirement, what comes to mind? Maybe it has something to do with stopping work, but should it? Whatever your plans for retirement are, do you know how to achieve them? Do you know how your pensions, ISAs, property and everything else will come together to deliver the lifestyle you want one day?

In this deeply practical book, 25-year veteran financial planner Pete Matthew walks you through the three phases of retirement:

• The Home Straight – the last five or ten years before retirement, when it’s time to get everything in place and aligned
• The Great Transition – for many of us, retiring is a process not an event and it looks different for each of us
• The New Normal – once we’re settled into our new life, we need to keep everything under review and look towards some later life planning

In this book, you’ll find everything you need to KNOW and everything you need to DO to plan and enjoy your perfect retirement.

Planning for retirement can be a scary thought, whether it is just around the corner or years in the future. Martin Hawes, one of New Zealand’s best-known experts on personal finance, answers all of the questions that may be keeping you up at night: How much will I need to retire? Can I ever afford to stop working? How do I make sure my money lasts as long as I do? Working out how you can achieve a regular monthly retirement income is more difficult than it used to be. Historically low interest rates (despite the current blip) plus longer life expectancy means the old method of parking your nest egg in a savings account and living off the interest is no longer an option. Hawes guides you step-by-step through the planning process, showing you how you can safely create a regular income for the rest of your life. Cracking Open the Nest Egg will help you to confidently take control of your financial future and achieve the kind of retirement you always dreamed of.

This affirming, positive, and practical book will better prepare retirees and their families for the changes and challenges of retirement in an uncertain economic, social, and political climate. A Simple Guide to Retirement: How to Make Retirement Work for You is a book for older Americans planning for retirement. It is also for people who have left work before they were ready and are now experiencing anxiety, depression, and/or financial weakness in their new role as retirees. Written to be at once affirming, positive, and practical, the book covers all of the many topics that will help retirees better prepare themselves for a positive, fulfilling, and satisfying retirement-beginning with financial security. These topics include saving for retirement, working part time, staying healthy and fit, dealing with the emotional and financial burden of health care, cultivating optimism, and much more. Case examples and vignettes will help readers apply the principles to their own lives. 10 illustrations

Everyone says they would like to retire early, but Rodney Rothman actually did it -- forty years early. Burnt out, he decides at the age of twenty-eight to get an early start on his golden years. He travels to Boca Raton, Florida, where he moves in with an elderly piano teacher at Century Village, a retirement community that is home to thousands of senior citizens.
"Early Bird" is an irreverent, hilarious, and ultimately warmhearted account of Rodney's journey deep into the heart of retirement. Rodney struggles for acceptance from the senior citizens he shares a swimming pool with and battles with cranky octogenarians who want him off their turf. Before long he observes, "I don't think "Tuesdays with Morrie" would have been quite so uplifting if that guy had to spend more than one day a week with Morrie."
In the spirit of retirement, Rodney fashions a busy schedule of suntanning, shuffleboard, and gambling cruises. As the months pass, his neighbors seem to forget that he is fifty years younger than they are. He finds himself the potential romantic interest of an aging femme fatale. He joins a senior softball club and is disturbed to learn that he is the worst player on the team.
"Early Bird" is a funny, insightful, and moving look at what happens to us when we retire, viewed from a remarkably premature perspective. Any reader who plans on becoming an old person will enjoy joining Rodney on his strange journey, as he reconsiders his notions of romance, family, friendship, and ultimately, whether he's ever going back to work.

Your Personal Roadmap to a Meaningful and Happy Retirement So you've reached your retirement age and are at risk of becoming a "couch potato". It doesn't have to be that way. Uncover the joy of retirement and learn how to make the most of it with this life-enhancing retirement gift book. Did you just set up a permanent out of office reply? Are you officially signed up for the Ferris Bueller phase of your life? Learn how to enter what can be the most satisfying life stage-a new world of happy retirement and good living. Wisdom and advice from real retirees. From the award-winning author of Purposeful Retirement and celebrated "Father of Time Management," Hyrum Smith, this retirement gift book for the newly retired provides inspiration and a newfound purpose. Filled with wisdom, advice from real retirees, and enthusiasm, you are encouraged to discover your true passion, re-imagine your life, and try new possibilities. Realize the hidden magic of a happy retirement: Move on from your world of work Discover your true passions Re-imagine your life Retirement is a gift. Make yours one that is meaningful and filled with curiosity, new experiences, and discovery-after all, if you don't look around once in a while, you could miss it! If you enjoyed life-changing books such as The Total Money Makeover, The Ultimate Retirement Guide for 50+, or Keys to a Successful Retirement, then you'll love Living a Purposeful Retirement.

Millions of baby boomers are just beginning to retire, and in doing so many are likely to run into adjustment problems, such as loss of identity, deterioration of marriage and social life, and feelings of disconnectedness to the world. Studies have found that as many as 40% of retirees have difficulty adjusting, and even those who claim to enjoy retirement may experience some uneasiness as they adapt to a life lacking in structure and direction. This book investigates the struggles faced by retirees in building a new life outside of the workforce. It provides an honest assessment of retirement, based on the not-always-acknowledged fact that it is a difficult transition with pitfalls and obstacles to be overcome. But along with uncovering problems, the authors also propose solutions to enable both current and future retirees to be better prepared, allowing them to avoid being blind-sided by unexpected situations. By reading about the experiences of their peers, current and future retirees will come to understand that others share their difficulties adjusting, and that tactics are available to improve their comfort level in retirement as well as their overall well-being. Retirees and those planning for retirement will find in these pages what they need to make retirement successful and enjoyable.

An estimated seventy-eight million baby boomers will hit retirement age in the coming decades. It's an exciting time, but many retirees miscalculate their retirement readiness before leaving their jobs and seeking a more carefree life. In "Don't Eat Dog Food When You're Old " author Roger Roemmich-who has more than forty years experience in the field of finance-presents a big-picture look at what you need to know to plan for your retirement or to better manage the various components of your financial life if you already are retired.

In this guide Roemmich first looks at whether you can afford to retire and then discusses retirement planning and financial management. He introduces his unique CAMP score methodology-considering cash flow, aging, medical needs, and purchasing power-that both provides a basis for quick evaluation of retirement readiness and serves to identify remedies for inadequacies. He also identifies the most important aspects of six key areas and helps show how they factor into having excellent cash flow throughout retirement.

You can calculate your retirement readiness accurately if you know the right questions to ask. Roemmich's guide-which assumes little or no prior knowledge but a keen interest in doing the right thing-helps you move forward carefully and confidently so that you can enjoy financial peace of mind during your golden years.

Get rich slowly Financial independence is a marathon, not a sprint. The financial crisis revealed the hazards of financial illiteracy. Governments desperately want citizens to become financially independent so they'll be less of a burden on them. Findependence Day presents personal finance in a "can't put down" story format easily digested by young adults entering the work force and the world of money. Because money problems often cause marital breakups, it focuses on the financial journey of a young couple who experience the usual ups and downs of job loss, buying homes, raising children, investing and pensions, starting businesses, coping with stock market volatility and more. The secrets of financial independence are critical wherever you are in the financial life cycle: Newlyweds embarking on family formation will discover the importance of financial planning. Debt-plagued graduates will be motivated to embrace "guerrilla frugality." Home-owners will learn the foundation of financial independence is a paid-for home. Those in their first jobs will embrace employer 401(k) plans, traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs. New parents will discover the need for life insurance and saving for children's education. Mid-life investors will learn how to cut costs in their portfolios while benefiting from the expertise of financial planners. Those near retirement will learn about advanced concepts like annuities and Asset Dedication. Jonathan Chevreau is the editor of MoneySense magazine, former personal finance columnist for the Financial Post and author of nine financial books, including The Wealthy Boomer: Life After Mutual Funds. He's active in social media and blogs at www.findependenceday.com. "Once in a blue moon, a financial book is written that should be required reading for all. Such is the case with Findependence Day." -- Peter Grandich, The Grandich Letter "A tour de force: a personal-finance book that is hard to put down." - Larry MacDonald, CanadianBusiness.com "Having some fun while learning what's good for you is a double win -- particularly learning what we all need to know to live happier lives." - Charles Ellis, author of Winning the Loser's Game This revised all-American edition features end-of-chapter summaries of financial concepts learned, a glossary and bibliography of books that will boost your financial literacy - or that of your kids.