Better Late than Never

John Wasik's 1998 book was one of the first to target middle-aged Americans who have saved little or nothing for their retirement. A journalist, Wasik crams the text with motivational tales from his own life and the lives of personal-finance gurus such as Suze Orman.

The book isn't very well organized. Wasik tends to jump around and includes rambling personal stories that aren't always relevant. For example, you get his take on 1960s suburbia, the civil-rights movement, and the Beatles, plus a detailed account of his recent vacation to Ireland in the chapter entitled "Lifestyle Planning." Nevertheless, the book has several strengths. Wasik does a good job of reassuring readers that contrary to many media reports, Social Security probably won't go bankrupt. The chapter on eliminating nonessentials such as extra cars and expensive vacations is helpful if you need to cut back on spending to start investing.

Set for Life: Financial Peace for People over 50
Readers looking for plans they can act on and no-nonsense advice are better served by this book from Bambi Holzer, a retirement-plan consultant with PaineWebber. This guide covers much the same territory as Wasik's but skips the personal stories to focus on facts.

Holzer starts with a chapter called "Where Do You Stand Today" and moves to detailed definitions of various retirement savings plans and investments. She also provides information on postretirement employment, taxes, and insurance. This book may be short on inspiration, but it's long on actionable advice for people ready to get serious about investing.

American Association of Retired Persons
The AARP's Web site is probably the best source of information about retirement planning for older adults on the Internet. Its Money and Work page features an A-to-Z index of financial-planning articles, such as "Setting Financial Goals" and "Planning Your Spending". All these articles are clearly written, suggest specific actions that readers can take, and include links to other useful Web sites. I highly recommend this free source if you're just starting to think about getting your financial life together.

ThirdAge.com
You've probably seen this site's annoying and superficial TV ads featuring The Who's "My Generation" over a montage of 1960s protests and Woodstock scenes. (As a member of the so-called Generation X demographic, I'm begging for a moratorium on 1960s nostalgia, please!) The investing advice ThirdAge.com offers isn't very weighty, either. Although the site has a Money page, promising-sounding articles such as "The ThirdAge Retirement Troubleshooter" take the form of interactive quizzes and impart little substantive information or practical advice. You'd be better off ignoring this lifestyle site for more fertile fields, such as AARP's Money and Work page.

MyPrimeTime.com
A slightly better boomer site, MyPrimeTime.com's Money section features actual articles, including the ethics-centered "Step-by-Step Program for Wisdom and Wealth". However, none of MyPrimeTime.com's articles are nearly as illuminating as similar pieces on the AARP site. But if you like to take personal-assessment tests, this is your destination. The site's not-so-subtly titled Me Meters department includes quizzes such as "What Motivates Your Money Decisions?" And personalized calculators allow you to determine your net assets, how much you spend, how much you should save, and so on.

Life Planning for Women
Featuring data-sprinkled studies and detailed articles such as "Calling the Shots: Women Baby Boomers in Control of Their Financial Futures", this site is a good place for women to research retirement issues. The site asserts several startling facts, including that among female boomers surveyed, only 21% have established a nest-egg goal, only 37% know their pension benefits, and only 30% have researched their Social Security benefits. Ultimately, this site's actionable advice--that you buy its books and videotapes--is weak. But its shock tactics should motivate late-starting female investors to do something.

Investor Protection Trust
This not-for-profit group's site promotes investor education and steers readers to information sources on a variety of topics. Under the heading Help! I Am Nearing Retirement is a list of links to the AARP site and several financial-planning organizations, such as the fee-only National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, for investors who think they may need professional help with planning their retirement.

via news.morningstar.com