I think this would be an excellent book in the right hands. I enjoyed it quite a lot, but I’m not quite ready for retirement and so some of the concerns presented herein didn’t hit me as hard as they might others. That being said, the authors present a very good and broad (but somewhat shallow) introduction to the topic of retirement – what it means, how it’s changed and may continue to do so, and how to prepare for it.

They cover a lot of material that’s not handled by most financial books, such as what one actually wants to do in retirement (including work, possibly less or in a different career), how much money one will need to do so and how to get, keep, and manage it (whereas most financially-oriented books I’ve seen content themselves with talking about how to accumulate as much money before retirement as possible). The authors introduce a number of insurance and annuity vehicles, RRSPs, TFSAs, and give general advice about how to monitor your portfolio performance (using free web tools that they own, but still…)

One of my favourite takeaways was advice to figure out how much money you’ll need for retirement and engage in the safest activities that will give it to you – more money does not necessarily mean a higher standard of living, or more happiness.

A recommended introduction to all things retirement-related, and worth a read even if you’re 20 years or more away from considering it.

Oh, and it’s Canadian. w00t.