The financial advice industry - which includes every major bank, mutual fund and investment advisor - has a vested interest in convincing you that you will never be able to afford a decent retirement. Social Security is going bankrupt; pensions have disappeared; and, if you don't save now, you won't have enough time to get the benefit of compounded interest or another long-term rally in the market. The more they scare you, the marketing wisdom goes, the more you're likely to latch onto their services. But the truth is far different from the atmosphere of fear the retirement industry has created.A great retirement is within reach-and not just for those with high-incomes or families who started saving early on. Filled with practical wisdom, and his distinctively ebullient voice, Jonathan Pond's "The Boomer's Guide to a Great Retirement" gives readers the financial advice they need without the scare tactics. Pond also possesses one of the largest databases anywhere in the US on the financial condition of middle and upper-middle classes in each region. The data will give readers the first real accounting of where they stand against their peers in planning for retirement.