This book is dramatic wake-up call for a generation of overspent and under-saved Americans who face the very real possibility of outliving their money. Yesterdays retirees were supported by guaranteed income sources. Today, baby boomers are looking at a very different picture, one where they are increasingly responsible for generating their retirement income from personal savings while facing a longer life expectancy and astounding leaps in expenses. Key Selling Points: explores the seven key challenges that stand between baby boomers and a successful retirement; helps baby boomers recognize and address the key challenges to retirement; guides baby boomers to better plan for the income they will need so they can achieve the retirement they deserve.

The United States faces a serious retirement challenge. Many of today's workers will lack the resources to retire at traditional ages and maintain their standard of living in retirement. Solving the problem is a major challenge in today's environment in which risk and responsibility have shifted from government and employers to individuals. For this reason, Charles D. Ellis, Alicia H. Munnell, and Andrew D. Eschtruth have written this concise guide for anyone concerned about their own - and the nation's - retirement security. Falling Short is grounded in sound research yet written in a highly accessible style. The authors provide a vivid picture of the retirement crisis in America. They offer the necessary context for understanding the nature and size of the retirement income shortfall, which is caused by both increasing income needs-due to longer lifespans and rising health costs-and decreasing support from Social Security and employer-sponsored pension plans. The solutions are to work longer and save more by building on the existing retirement system. To work longer, individuals should plan to stay in the labor force until age 70 if possible. To save more, policymakers should shore up Social Security's long-term finances; make all 401(k) plans fully automatic, with workers allowed to opt out; and ensure that everyone has access to a retirement savings plan. Individuals should also recognize that their house is a source of saving, which they can tap in retirement through downsizing or a reverse mortgage.

How 401(k)s have gutted retirement security, from charging exorbitant hidden fees to failing to replace the income of traditional pensions Named one of PW's Top 10 for Business & Economics A retirement crisis is looming. In 2008, as the 401(k) fallout rippled across the country, horrified holders watched 25 percent of their funds evaporate overnight. Average 401(k) balances for those approaching retirement are too small to generate more than $4,000 in annual retirement income, and experts predict that nearly half of middle-class workers will be poor or near poor in retirement. But long before the recession, signs were mounting that few people would ever be able to accumulate enough wealth on their own to ensure financial security later in life. This hasn’t always been the case. Each generation of workers since the nineteenth century has had more retirement security than the previous generation. That is, until 1981, when shaky 401(k) plans began replacing traditional pensions. For the last thirty years, we’ve been advised that the best way to build one’s nest egg is to heavily invest in 401(k)-type programs, even though such plans were originally designed to be a supplement to rather than the basis for retirement. This financial experiment, promoted by neoliberals and aggressively peddled by Wall Street, has now come full circle, with tens of millions of Americans discovering that they would have been better off under traditional pension plans long since replaced. As James W. Russell explains, this do-it-yourself retirement system—in which individuals with modest incomes are expected to invest large sums of capital in order to reap the same rewards as high-end money managers—isn’t working. Social Insecurity tells the story of a massive and international retirement robbery—a substantial transfer of wealth from everyday workers to Wall Street financiers via tremendously costly hidden fees. Russell traces what amounts to a perfect swindle, from its ideological origins at Milton Friedman’s infamous Chicago School to its implementation in Chile under Pinochet’s dictatorship and its adoption in America through Reaganomics. Enraging yet hopeful, Russell offers concrete ideas on how individuals and society can arrest this downward spiral.

The follow-up to the bestselling The Power of Zero, providing a blueprint to build a guaranteed, tax-free income stream that lasts for the long run. American retirees face a looming crisis. We are living longer than ever before, and most experts predict a dramatic rise in tax rates within the next ten years. The hard truth is that no matter how much you save, you are likely to outlive your money or watch it be taxed into oblivion. But when traditional retirement distribution strategies won't provide sufficient income in the face of higher taxes, what can you do? Tax-Free Income for Life lays out a comprehensive, step-by-step roadmap for a secure retirement. McKnight shows how the combination of guaranteed, inflation-adjusted lifetime income and a proactive asset-shifting strategy can shield you from longevity risk and the cascade of unintended consequences that result from higher taxes. It's an innovative and proven strategy that maximizes return while effectively neutralizing the two biggest risks to retirement savings. If ever there were a solution for the American retiree, it's guaranteed tax-free income for life.

In Rescuing Retirement, Teresa Ghilarducci and Tony James offer a comprehensive yet simple plan to help workers save for retirement, increase retirement savings by earning higher returns, and guarantee lifelong income for everyone. It offers a practical guide to the future of secure retirement.

The practical, nonpartisan guide to making our retirement savings systems work for America’s people, our economy, and the nation at large At a time of fierce political divisiveness, From Here to Security is a refreshingly balanced, non-ideological guide to solving what may be our nation’s most pressing policy challenge: achieving retirement security for all. A pioneer of the 401(k) system, Robert L. Reynolds eschews radical calls for throwing out the 401(k) entirely and creating a new government-run savings system. Our best course, he shows, is to build on what we have: a flexible, dynamic private-public system of Social Security and more robust workplace savings. From Here to Security provides a clear, powerful new approach to solving America’s retirement challenge – based on facts, data, and Reynolds’ decades of experience. While fear-mongers claim that the U.S. retirement system is on the verge of collapse; Reynolds shows why our system is actually the envy of the world. But From Here to Security is no status quo book. Reynolds lays out an action agenda to dramatically improve our retirement systems – public and private – lift our savings rate, improve people’s retirement prospects, spur faster growth – and reboot America’s national morale.

Bonus content "What's Your Retirementology I.Q.?" included in this digital edition. Looking ahead to retirement? Depending on your circumstances and your age, you may no longer have any margin for error. And your emotions and irrational behavior could be perpetuating a dangerous cycle of overspending and rising debt that may shatter whatever vision of retirement you still have. Welcome to the world of Retirementology. Retirementology bridges retirement planning with investor psychology and the market Meltdown of 2008 to produce an entirely new way of thinking about how we spend, how we save, how we borrow, and how we invest. Financial mistakes are deeply rooted in human nature, but you may be able to overcome them--if you understand the breakthrough principles of behavioral economics and apply them in your own retirement planning. Dr. Gregory Salsbury identifies some of the classic cognitive biases and behavioral mistakes most of us keep making when it comes to retirement planning. For example: Why will people drive 45 minutes to use a $2.00 coupon? Why won’t people sell a poor performing stock just because they inherited it from grandma? Why do people spend differently with a credit card than they do with cash? Why do people believe that they paid no income taxes because they received a refund? You’ll learn why the financial meltdown has amplified the impact of these all-too-human cognitive mistakes and discover ideas for addressing them. The bottom line for your bottom line is that retirement can no longer be ignored, viewed as a single event, relegated to a “zone,” or romanticized. Instead, you must understand how every spending and financial decision you make from here on can impact the way you will spend your golden years. Retirementology attempts to help you do just that. Retirement planning: right brain versus left brain Why these different areas of the brain impact financial decisions--and what to do about it It’s real money! “De-layering” your finances How to overcome the psychological tricks that separate you from your money Family matters: managing financial support decisions for your extended family Choosing between your family or your retirement Get “long-term smart” How longevity, inflation, volatility, and your own expectations impact your retirement goals