The Smartest Retirement Book You'll Ever Read Hardcover – September 1, 2009

A quick read, and very useful for someone who does not have time to get into a long, boring, complex book on how to invest. Buy it.

In this book, the author provides excellent, short, sweet and to the point advice about how to invest for retirement, and not fall prey to investment options that can cost you much of your investments.The chapters are very short, and make the complex options of investments understandable - which is helpful for the layperson, not that familiar with the options and terms.Very helpful discussion of social security is included in later chapters as well as very helpful resources to go deeper into the subjects as one wishes.

I have also read "the smartest investing book you'll ever read", and both offer comparable advice. The bottom line is to skip timing the market and investing in individual stocks, and to invest in index funds. The concept and principles make a lot of sense, although the investor needs to be aware that the timing of when one invests in an index fund will still impact the performance of their portfolio. As I gradually sell my holdings, I am, indeed, shifting to index funds. That speaks more to whether or not I value this book than anything else.If you want to be a daytrader, trying to time the market, or want to make a killing by choosing a superb stock, and don't spend your money on this book. If you want a simple strategy for investing, along with a questionnaire to help you evaluate your own risk tolerance, this book is a good way to go.

All of Daniel Solin's books provide solid information for the investor. Elsewhere a review mentioned that he recommends Vanguard funds andthe review writer wondered if he was shilling for Vanguard. However, every reputable writer of investment books is now recommending using Vanguard or Fidelity index mutual funds instead of actively managed funds. Investment writers mention other index fund companies, too, but Vanguard and Fidelity are the most prominent. Solin is not alone in this regard. Solin's books are concise and straightforward. I read and gift them regularly.

Covers a wide range of topics that are important to know as you ease into retirement. Particular helpful for the last 5-10 years, but would be well worth reading at a younger age to give yourself an idea of how to prepare for the future (hint: start saving / investing early).

The Smartest Retirement Book You'll Ever Read reads like a collection of newspaper articles compiled in a handy book. If you are new to planning for retirement, then this is the book for you. If you have been investing in a 401(k) for 5+ years, then you probably already know 90% of the material. I do feel a bit cheated because of the arrangement of the chapters. There is more white space then I expected. On the plus side, if you have a short attention span, then this book is for you. If you have a 20-24 year old kid just starting out, this would be a great first book. The information is accurate and informative.

There's not much new here, but the advice is simple and helpful. His basic premises are: (1) diversify, (2) invest in exactly the same mutual funds recommended in How a Second Grader Beat the Market, and (3) invest more conservatively as you get older. Investing isn't complicated, but it never hurts to be reminded of the basic wisdom. And, by the way, he sees no reason to use anything but a discount on-line broker. That may be the best advice he gives.

I first read this book over a year ago, having checked it out from the library when I was setting up a rollover IRA. Recently I was helping a relative with their investing, and checked out this book again. I decided to purchase a copy for my own resources. It is concise, easy to understand, and written so that most anyone can understand the concepts. Some reviewers have complained that it is too simple, but that's the point. It is aimed at the general consumer and investor who doesn't want to pay high fees trying to beat the market. I recommend it to anyone who is not completely sure if their investments are in the right assets, or who doesn't understand what their "advisor" has them putting money into. That was the case with my relative. Their retirement funds were being invested in equity-based variable annuities, INSIDE a tax-deferred fund, which is helping their insurance agent's fund but not so good for their own. When they asked me, "Why would he do this?" the best answer I had is that 1) he has no fiduciary responsibility to clients, and 2) these annuities pay high commissions to agents.Anyway, if you don't know what you're investing in nor why, then this is one of a few books I recommend reading before you start throwing money around. Oh yeah, each chapter is about two or three pages long, then ends with a highlighted "point". This is another negative from some reviewers but I really like it.