Can I Retire?: How Much Money You Need to Retire and How to Manage Your Retirement Savings, Explained in 100 Pages or Less Paperback – May 13, 2013

A very clean distillation of all the key topics. I plan to buy a paperback version to have it handy as a reference.

This book was recommended in an AARP publication and it gave me some good information to get started. I got a little blitzed by the time the author got to tax considerations and distribution planning, yet each chapter ends with a Simple Summary and he suggests resources for further reading at the end. It also includes practical information on choosing the right financial planning adviser and how to avoid unnecessary fees. I recommend this as a good beginner’s guide to retirement planning.

Outstanding all around retirement book. This book stands out by being short, while clearly and simply addressing very complex topics.Mike never ceases to amaze through his books, blogs and presentations.Would like to see more details on what to do with remaking asset allocations not dedicated to bridge towards social security. Allocation during and after bridge yearsI look forward to reading more publications for DYI investors. Thank you Mike.

Since early 2007 I have been doing a self-study on investing, financial markets, and retirement issues and have read most of the classic academic literature, from Benjamin Graham, Roger Gibson, and Charles Ellis, to Burton Malkiel, William Bernstein, and John Bogel. As the previous reviewers have noted, Mr. Piper writes both extremely clearly and very well. He boils down a subject to its pure essense, yet on nearly every page he adds notes of clarification just where a newcomer might tend to get lost [or even bring clarity to someone who has been doing a total immersion into finance books!]. In a couple places, as I finished a chapter and was thinking, "that was really good, but what about..?", and then I turned the page to find the answer. I never found anything, not a word, which I did not agree with him, and although it is of course impossible to cover everything completely in 100 pages, many folks [like all the ones who don't have the time to read the dozens and dozens of fine books on the topic] will find most the basics of what they need to get started for retirement in this book. For those who need more, the finer points are out there in specialized books, or on self help websites like the Bogleheads or Mr. Piper's own. This is NOT "retirement for dummies"! Mr. Piper knows his subject thoroughly and presents it well. The book will stand re-reading, even for non-novice readers.I am ordering a few more copies to give out to family [including my wife] and friends who are near or starting retirement, and plan to read his other books also.There are rumors that Mr. Piper is thinking about writing a similar 100 page book on Social Security, which I hope is true, since I am already 61.

Okay, it's sort of like what my parents use to say about how much you pay for something, "A lot of times you get what you pay for" That's kind of the situation here. 100 pages isn't a whole lot of room for information, so you shouldn't think that your going to get a lot of details on implementation of your retirement plan.I would consider this coffee table reading for someone who has not even considered retirement; Retirement 101, This book will introduce you to the basic concepts and most of the things you need to consider. What you will not get is details. So if you are looking for a book to give you an introduction (ie the cliff notes) so you can have a general conversation with your spouse, or best friend, this may be good for you. If you are getting serous, and are a beginner, you should really consider the AARP retirement Survival Guide listed below.I don't really want to beat up on the book to much, because it does give you a good 10,000 foot overview. Just remember, you are getting what you pay for here as far as the 100pages is concerned.Here is a list of some of the books I have read in preparing for retirement, and a one-liner, and ranking for each. I will order them in the order I would read them:1. The AARP Retirement Survival Guide: How to Make Smart Financial Decisions in Good Times and Bad (Julie Jason)Rank: 5/5Summary:Real good overview and introduction to the many considerations for retirement.2. Buckets of Money: How to Retire in Comfort and Safety (Raymond Lucia)Rank: 4/5Summary: Interesting concept on planning for retirement. Although I'm not sure I will use the plan Raymond lays out here, I think the general concept is a real good idea on how to think about tapping your assets as you plan for retirement.3. Annuities For Dummies (Kerry Pechter)Rank: 4.5/5Summary: Great details on the highly complex subject of annuities, a critical tool for your retirement planning to alleviate longevity and market risk.If you read the books above, I don't think there is a need for reading the books listed below since either they don't have the depth, or have already been covered in sufficient detail in the books above.The Bogleheads' Guide to Retirement Planningg (Various Aurthors)Rank: 3.5/5Summary: I think this book tries to cover a little to much, and as a result has topics that I don't think are appropriate for the retirement planning. Since the book attempts to cover so many topics, it really doesn't give real good details on any one topic. I think of this book, more as an executive summary for the various topics it covers.Can I Retire? How Much Money You Need to Retire and How to Manage Your Retirement Savings, Explained in 100 Pages or Less (Mike Piper)Rank: 2.5/5Summary: What do you expect for 100 pages? Although the author does seem to stay on-topic in this book, its just to broad to really give you any actionable information. Perhaps a decent book if you are just wading into the whole concept of retirement and don't want to put alot of thought into details(IE the big picture). This book does not answer the question it poses in the title.Hope this helpsJames