The Retirement Revolution: A Strategic Guide to Understanding & Investing Lump-Sum Distributions from Qualified Retirement Plans

Physician's Money Digest

readers are concerned about retirement. In response to a recent questionnaire, many of our physician-readers expressed worries about outliving their funds. While our magazine offers helpful, brief reading on personal finance matters for doctors, including retirement planning, it's not a bad idea to do extra reading on the topic.

The Retirement Revolution

We received a copy of ($22.95; iUniverse Star; 2004) by Dan L. Flores, an investment and retirement planning consultant for 20 years, and consider it a very worthwhile read for physicians looking to capitalize on retirement investments. The new retirement tax laws have grown increasingly complex, causing many investors to miss out on great investment options they don't realize are available. Flores opens with a section explaining the lay of the retirement land, outlining the rules and regulations of lump-sum distributions. The book clarifies the differences between individual securities, money managers, and packed products (eg, mutual funds, unit trusts, and exchange-traded funds).

The Retirement Revolution

then explains through examples and charts how to tailor retirement investment options to individual needs, from time horizons to risk capacities to portfolio sizes. It explains how to build and monitor an investment portfolio, withdraw income from retirement accounts, and determine appropriate fund management costs. It offers a handy glossary and, in case you're looking for more, an index of further reading. Flores imparts crucial information to help doctors properly implement a sound retirement plan, so they can relax about outliving their retirement funds and focus on enjoying the beauty of a long life.