Broad coverage of topics ... but at a very high level of bullet points. This is an excellent book to see the big picture and review your situation. But to dig into any individual area (chapter), you'll need to head back to the library. ( )

Does The Smartest Retirement Book You'll Ever Read live up to its name? No, but it's still a worthwhile book with a few caveats.

The book itself has almost sixty chapters, but each one usually runs two to three pages. Much of the advice given comes across as flippant, with minimal "hard facts" to support his positions. ("I could elaborate on the dangers of equity-indexed annuities. All you really need to know is this: Avoid them." Then the chapter ends.) Frustratingly, he does offer good tips (invest in index funds -- even target date funds are OK -- and learn to control costs), but all of them tend to be stated in absolute terms. There are very few times when he says that if you fall into one category, you might do option A but if you fall into another, choose B.

I read this in anticipation of holiday conversations with my parents, who are now both retired. Thinking of them as I read this book, I felt the advice given in the book may be too late as they've already started Social Security payments (Solin states waiting as long as possible usually turns out better). There are investing ideas which would be far too late for my parents now. But a few chapters on life and medical insurance (and the ever-looming idea of reverse home mortgages) may still be useful.

If this was the only retirement book you ever read, you'd probably still do better than the average retiree. It's a great -- and fast -- read for anyone who knows retirement is important but isn't quite sure where to start. But if you're someone who prefers logical arguments backed up with factual data, you'll find this far too light a treatment.

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LT Haiku:

Explaining money
Savings techniques needs more than
Pithy articles. ( )