The 2% Club: Only 2% of the Population Have Pensions and $1M+ Saved

by Joe F. Schmitz Jr.

154 pages, Paperback

Published November 18, 2025

Reviews

[Clinton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is primarily a marketing pitch to a specific segment of the American public. The 2% Club consists of those who have a defined benefit pension plan (20% of Americans) and at least $1 million of retirement savings (10% of Americans). 20% X 10% = 2%. The Author is the principal of Peak Retirement Planning, a financial planning firm specializing in the finances of those with pension plans, a vanishing breed. Although the primary objective of this book is to convince you to hire a financial planning firm like Peak, I found a lot of useful information between the pages. The book emphasizes the importance of planning required for those in the 2% Club in five areas:
* - Tax planning
* - Investment planning
* - Income planning
* - Estate planning
* - Health care planning

There are interrelationships among these that significantly complicates financial planning. Of course, at only 133 short pages, there is not enough information in this book that would allow a reader to adequately plan for retirement. Otherwise, there would be no reason to hire Peak. But the book does provide a very good introduction to topics that may be beyond the radar screen of the reader. Considering the price, free upon request at peakretirementplanning.com, I found this a useful starting point for thinking about all aspects of retirement planning.