A retirement plan should never leave you so confused that you're relegated to a state of paralysis. After all, who wants to feel like an "idiot" or a "dummy"?

Introducing Retiring for the GENIUS, a modern-day blueprint on preparing for, and enjoying, your life in retirement.

Retiring for the GENIUS was written specifically for those who:

• seek to spend between $4,000 and $10,000 per month in retirement;
• need to get their financial house in order;
• have a net worth (including their home) of between $500,000 and $2.5 million;
• worry about taxes, medical costs, and spending money in retirement;
• wonder whether their investments are properly positioned for retirement.

Unlike retirement planning books that are crammed with academic facts, statistics, and charts, Retiring for the GENIUS is different. It's written in down-to-earth prose by a second-generation CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional who has spent more than two decades providing financial advice to people just like you.

If now's the time to get your financial house in order, the whimsical, easy-to-read writing style in Retiring for the GENIUS will be a great companion for your retirement.

Summary of book contents:

Part 1: Building the Foundation for a Successful Retirement

Chapter 1: What Is Retirement Planning Anyway?

Chapter 2: Crafting a Successful Retirement Plan

Chapter 3: Getting Your Financial House in Order

Chapter 4: Where Does All the Money Go?

Chapter 5: Are Your Assets Owned Properly?

Chapter 6: Making the Most of Your Retirement Plan

Chapter 7: Investments for the Genius

Chapter 8: Investing in Mutual Funds

Chapter 9: Income-Based Investments Retirees Consider

Chapter 10: Preparing to Invest Like a Genius

Part 2: This Is NOT Your Parent's Retirement—Advice and Instructions for Today's Retiree

Chapter 11: Retiring—Could It Be the Biggest Decision of Your Life?

Chapter 12: Retirement—Time to Get Messy

Chapter 13: Social Security—It Impacts Everyone!

Chapter 14: Pensions and the Secret Millionaire

Chapter 15: Understanding Taxes in Retirement

Chapter 16: Maximizing Your Money in Retirement

Chapter 17: Ideas on Drawing Income to Meet Your Spending Needs

Chapter 18: IRA Distributions—Managing Yours and Those You Inherit

Part 3: The Elephant in the Room—Issues Retirees Can No Longer Ignore

Chapter 19: Where Will You Live in Retirement?

Chapter 20: What Keeps You Up at Night?

Chapter 21: Should Probate Be Feared? Can It Be Avoided?

Chapter 22: All Good Things Must Come to an End

Part 4: Tools, Templates, and Time-Tested Advice

Chapter 23: Ideas to Ignite Your Retirement Plan

Chapter 24: Advice for Geniuses on Finding an Adviser Who Makes Sense for You

Chapter 25: The Most Important Question of All

About the Author

Marc S. Freedman CFP® is President/CEO of Freedman Financial, and has practiced financial planning and investment management out of his office in Peabody, MA since 1992.

Marc’s high energy story-telling skills make him a highly-sought-after speaker to both the financial planning community and the consumer public at large.

Over the past few years, Marc has been the radio host of “Dollars & Sense” where he delivers “financial advice in a language you can understand.” He has been quoted in national media outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Money Magazine, Bloomberg Business Week, and multiple industry publications. He has appeared on The CBS Morning Show, Fox Business News, CNNMoney and local television affiliates in Boston.

His first publication, Oversold and Underserved – A Financial Planner’s Guide to Serving the Mass Affluent, has been recognized by the industry as a blueprint for building a better relationship between financial planners and the Mass Affluent Baby Boomer (MABB) marketplace.

Marc is a 1989 graduate of Babson College. He is married to Laura and has five children. He is an avid fan of the Boston Red Sox and the Wonderful World of Disney. It is his life-long dream to dress as a Disney Character in the Magic Kingdom for just one day. After that, he would like to happily retire as a guest relations cast member.

What Are GENIUS Books?

Though we admit to a bit of tongue-in-cheek fun in referring to our readers as geniuses, we do in fact think highly of them! We know that they are intelligent and knowledgeable about many subjects, just not necessarily on the subject of the For the GENIUS book they’ve just picked up. They know that, despite the title, our books are for pretty much everyone, not just “Einsteins”—though even some Einsteins will enjoy our books, too!

We celebrate the fact that our readers are inspired to learn a subject enough to pick up one of our books, which in turn inspires us to ensure, through plenty of perspiration at every step, excellence in producing them.

Readers will enjoy the fun, upbeat, and first-person writing style. They will even find themselves entertained by the occasional sprinkled-in humor, and look forward to sidebars that enhance the discussion.

Though written in a conversational first-person style, GENIUS books are thorough and authoritative treatments of the subject. They are written by top experts in the subject who want to share with others what they’ve learned.

The For the GENIUS series was created by CharityChannel, a community of nonprofit-sector professionals, to offer the world something different and not always on a nonprofit topic. Enjoy!