No. This is not a paid review…he did it on his own. Of course I asked for a review…I must thank him for reading it in detail and giving me a feedback.

For those who do not know him..he was a fund manager and is now an Investment Adviser and runs his own blog

http://www.asksandipsabharwal.com 

Read on…

PV SUBRAMANYAM has written an insightful book on planning for retirement, pitfalls to avoid and the right way to go about it. It covers various aspects of how young and middle aged people can plan for the years where they will not earn as much as they do right now but would like to keep the same lifestyle and the ways to go about achieving the same.

The book asks hard questions in Chapter 2 itself where relevant questions are asked which most don’t think of while planning their finances. The chapter on discussions within the family to understand each others financial position is also very relevant. I have never asked my parents about the adequacy of their savings so as not to offend them. Chapter 5 & the points made on who actually needs insurance is also very relevant to understand. Chapter 9 on how much money is required at the time of retirement is an important one as PV points out that most people tend to underestimate their requirements.

Chapter 20 on retirement blunders to avoid is a must read along with Chapter 23 on avoiding ponzi schemes. What is too good to be true is usually not true, however most people tend to fall for “Assured” returns.

Chapter 26 on actual case studies is a very good one as real life studies give a greater insight into issues real people face. In subsequent chapters Reverse Mortgage is also explained very well as many retirees have assets but not the liquidity and PV explains very well how liquidity can be generated formally and informally. SMART goals are also very well illustrated i.e goals should be specific, measurable and more importantly realistic to achieve.

PV’s examples of actual interactions with clients can be eye opening for many and are one of the key highlights of the book along with the chapter on actually estimating the retirement corpus which does require some understanding of finance but is quite easy to understand as it is explained. Overall the book has many insights that most in the accumulation phase of their life do not pay attention on, which if understood well can help them have a fulfilling retired life.