Retirement Bites - by Kerry Hannon & Janna Herron (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

From two personal finance experts, a "hopeful and even fun roadmap" (Ken Dychtwald, author of The Power Years) to plan for your retirement, tailored to the specific financial circumstances of Gen X

The oldest members of Gen X are less than a decade from retirement age, but many of the sixty-four million Americans born between 1965 and 1980 are not sufficiently prepared. While it could be easy to label Gen Xers as slackers, there are several underlying economic issues making it harder for this cohort to save for retirement. Company-funded pensions vanished just as Gen X started working, 401(k)s were less widespread for much of their early earning years, and Gen X's earnings have been disrupted by multiple financial crises during their work lifetimes.

Retirement Bites is a retirement playbook that specifically targets this overlooked generation. Personal finance experts Kerry Hannon and Janna Herron lay out a blueprint for Gen Xers to take control of their financial future: from understanding investment options, to boosting financial security, to creating a retirement income stream, and more. The goal is to embrace not just saving for retirement but saving for life.

Review Quotes

"Retirement Bites has been needed for a long time as too many Gen Xers are unprepared for their financial futures. Authors Kerry Hannon and Janna Herron point the way to solving the challenges and nail the useful steps and actions that this generation can take. As your guides, they provide the knowledge and information that Xers need to protect their future and innovative strategies to ensure that this generation can preserve their lifestyle and build financial independence."
--Cindy Hounsell, founder, Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER)

"Generation X will soon be coming of age--retirement age. The oldest Gen Xers are turning 60 and the youngest are now in their mid to late 40s. Many are feeling behind on their finances but, if they take action now, their retirement reality doesn't have to bite. Whether you're on track or looking for ways to catch up, Retirement Bites offers a step-by-step road map for strengthening your situation. Authors Kerry Hannon and Janna Herron provide expert guidance and oodles of practical tips, fun pop culture references, and inspiring real-life stories for achieving a meaningful, purposeful, and secure retirement."
--Catherine Collinson, founding CEO and president, Transamerica Institute and Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies

"If you feel like it's the end of the world as you know it when it comes to retirement, this book is exactly what you need to get closer to fine. It is an easy-to-read, optimistic and thorough blueprint for getting on track for retirement. Plus, it is loaded with data, real-life stories and pop-culture references that my fellow Gen Xers will love. In short, other retirement books can't touch this."
--Matt Schulz, author of Ask Questions, Save Money, Make More

"Many Gen-Xers find themselves hurtling toward retirement with a deep sense of insecurity about whether they'll ever have the financial wherewithal to quit working. Chock-full of reassurance and practical strategies, Retirement Bites is like having a savvy financial planner at your disposal, one who understands where you've been and where you want to go."
--Christine Benz, author of How to Retire

"Most Gen Xers don't want to live, work or retire the way their parents did. In Retirement Bites, Kerry Hannon and Janna Herron provide an honest and insightful look at how this cohort has been shaped by unique economic, cultural and technological shifts during their working lives and provides a hopeful and even fun road map forward as they revolutionize retirement and take steps to create a financially and emotionally secure future."
--Ken Dychtwald, PhD, author of The Power Years

"We survived dial-up internet, latchkey afternoons, drinking from the hose, and every breakup ever set to a Cure song--but retirement? That's a whole new beast. Retirement Bites is the brutally honest, occasionally hilarious, and totally essential guide for Gen Xers who never thought they'd grow up, let alone plan for life after work. Rock on, retirement."
--Bradley Schurman, author of The Super Age

"With longer life expectancies, financial security is as important as your long-term health. Retirement Bites is the roadmap for people of all ages who want to get ready for a better future."
--Michael Clinton, author of Roar

About the Author

Kerry Hannon is a leading authority and strategist on retirement, jobs, career transitions, entrepreneurship, leadership, and personal finance. She is a senior columnist and on-air expert at Yahoo Finance and the award-winning author of fourteen books, including Great Jobs for Everyone 50+. She lives in Washington, DC.

Janna Herron is an award-winning reporter and editor with twenty years of expertise in personal finance, retirement, taxes, and real estate. Before becoming a freelance journalist, she was a senior columnist and on-air expert at Yahoo Finance. She lives in New York.