Retirement Countdown: Take Action Now to Get the Life You Want »

David Shapiro, retired CFP, CLU, ChFC, has trained thousands of financial planning professionals during his 25-year career, helping their clients to better enjoy their retirement. Working with banks, insurance companies, and broker dealers, he has been a major influence in developing leading-edge retirement products. Shapiro is considered one of the top thought leaders on retirement planning and is a much sought-after speaker on the topic. As a highly successful entrepreneur, Shapiro knows about taking action and getting results. His two previous businesses were bought by Safeco Corporation and Wachovia Bank.

A featured columnist in the National Underwriter, he has coauthored two best-sellers, including Annuities (Dearborn Trade Publishing, 2001), which has sold more than 80,000 copies and was quoted in a Supreme Court decision. In 2002, Shapiro was the driving force behind the creation of National Retirement Planning Week and the National Retirement Planning Coalition (www.retireonyourterms.org). In addition to his writing and speaking, you may also see him quoted on retirement issues in business publications, from The Wall Street Journal to Money.

“How important is it to pay attention to this book? How important is it to live without fear? How important is it to be able to help your children and grandchildren? How important is it to be able to enjoy yourself after you retire instead of living in terror? How important is it to live on the golf course instead of in a single room of a retirement hotel? Or, to put it another way, this book is important, and rarely has a book so important been so much fun to read.”
—Ben Stein, Economist, Lawyer, Writer, TV Personality and Honorary Chair of the National Retirement Planning Coalition.

“Retirement Countdown offers a wonderful perspective on retirement issues. Not only does the book create awareness, it helps solve the problems faced by so many people who don’t know how to plan. By introducing Goal Oriented Retirement Planning, David Shapiro has created a breakthrough process for matching assets with goals and achieving success. This is must-read book!”
—Tom West, Retired Chairman and CEO, American General Retirement Services

“This book offers a comprehensive approach to retirement planning delivered in an enjoyable and easy-to-read format. I’m going to recommend it to all my clients in the pre-retirement stage. Shapiro makes the journey fun!”
—Pat Hanley-Peterson, Ph.D., Vice President, Director of Professional Services, Certified Executive Coach, Lee Hecht Harrison

“David Shapiro has for years been a source of information on financial instruments and trends for industry professionals. Now he uses that expertise to make information accessible to the general public. With this accessible book, David Shapiro makes the process of retirement planning less daunting for everyone, regardless of individual levels of expertise.”
—Juanita Brown, Senior Vice President, Associated Securities

“Don’t just read this book; use it. The author builds a powerful case for accepting personal responsibility for taking action now. Time is money. Invest yours now; you will love the rate of return. With Shapiro as your guide, help replaces hope.”
—Tim Freeman, President, Efficient Marketing, LLC

Protect your retirement, one step at a time—starting today!

• Don’t outlive your assets! Know what you’ll need, how to get it, and how to keep it
• Personal coaching from one of the world’s leading retirement planning experts
• Overcome the #1 danger to your retirement: procrastination. Only Jerry Seinfeld can make money doing nothing!
• Understand retirement investment risks—and manage them
• Author provides interactive retirement planning tools at www.retirementcountdown.com

Concerned about retirement income? You’d better be. Don’t panic. Act! Retirement Countdown will help you every step of the way.

In this action-oriented book, you’ll discover where you stand, make a solid plan, and learn how to stick with it. You’ll assess all your options, discovering practical strategies for controlling risk as you build savings. You’ll learn how to tweak your plan to reflect changing times. And, once you’ve retired, you’ll learn the best ways to protect and stretch your savings.

Whatever your assets, whatever your investment knowledge, this book will coach you every step of the way on the road to the comfortable retirement you deserve.

Publishers Weekly

Shapiro, a personal finance columnist and financial planning trainer, believes that many people don't plan for their retirement. The process intimidates people, or they're lulled-by the media or other authors-into believing they can do all the planning on their own. Shapiro advocates using financial planners and, more importantly, taking small careful steps. The book is divided into three parts, beginning with an overview of retirement. The second discusses specific investments like annuities. The third explains the various types of financial planners and how they are compensated. Shapiro coins the term GORP-goal-oriented retirement planning-and counsels readers to focus on their priorities. Throughout the book, he uses case studies to provide specific guidance to readers who can identify with people in similar situations. For instance, for an older couple who would like to take several long vacations each year, Shapiro divides their savings needs based on their income and other expenses. Much of this book is useful, especially for readers who aren't comfortable with financial terms and have not been involved in planning for the future. Each chapter has a "power checklist" and cautionary boxes to help readers focus their strategies. However, the author's argument gets bogged down in his use of mountain climbing as an analogy to financial planning. The book's focus on retirement is sufficient without such extraneous references. (July) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.