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Essential Retirement Planning for Solo Agers: A Retirement and Aging Roadmap for Single and Childless Adults
A practical yet humorous guide to aging solo gracefully and achieving a happy retirement.
In Essential Retirement Planning for Solo Agers, certified retirement coach Sara Zeff Geber coins the term "Solo Ager" to refer to the segment of society that either does not have adult children or is single and believes they will be on their own as they grow older. This book explores the path ahead for this group. That includes choices in housing, relationships, legal arrangements, finances, and more.
Geber reviews the role of adult children in an aging parent's world and suggests ways in which Solo Agers can mitigate the absence of adult children by relationship building and rigorous planning for their future. Geber shares her expertise on what constitutes a fulfilling older life and how Solo Agers can maximize their opportunities for financial security, physical health, meaning and purpose in the second half of life, and, finally, planning for the end game.
Through real-life stories and anecdotes, the author explores housing choices, relationships, and building a support system. You will learn about: - different levels of care and independence in various types of living arrangements
- how to initiate discussions among friends and relatives about end-of-life treatment
- "what if" scenarios
- who to talk to about legal and financial decisions
And it's not just the Solo Ager that can learn from this book. Financial advisors, elder law and estate attorneys, senior care managers, and others whose clientele is on the far side of sixty will benefit as well.
In Essential Retirement Planning for Solo Agers, certified retirement coach Sara Zeff Geber coins the term "Solo Ager" to refer to the segment of society that either does not have adult children or is single and believes they will be on their own as they grow older. This book explores the path ahead for this group. That includes choices in housing, relationships, legal arrangements, finances, and more.
Geber reviews the role of adult children in an aging parent's world and suggests ways in which Solo Agers can mitigate the absence of adult children by relationship building and rigorous planning for their future. Geber shares her expertise on what constitutes a fulfilling older life and how Solo Agers can maximize their opportunities for financial security, physical health, meaning and purpose in the second half of life, and, finally, planning for the end game.
Through real-life stories and anecdotes, the author explores housing choices, relationships, and building a support system. You will learn about: - different levels of care and independence in various types of living arrangements
- how to initiate discussions among friends and relatives about end-of-life treatment
- "what if" scenarios
- who to talk to about legal and financial decisions
And it's not just the Solo Ager that can learn from this book. Financial advisors, elder law and estate attorneys, senior care managers, and others whose clientele is on the far side of sixty will benefit as well.
7 pages, Audiobook
Published February 19, 2019
143 people are currently reading
200 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 23, 2019
This book is packed with clear, up-to-date and convincing advice for anyone approaching old age without grown children to take care of them. Married couples and domestic partners should take heed, because one of you is likely to outlive the other. It's not just about old old age, though. There's just as much good advice for the early retirement years, when wise decisions can make a tremendous difference in quality of life.
January 20, 2019
Crossing the Rainbow Bridge
The audience for this book is primarily single, childless, professional, politically liberal, women in Northeastern America and urban West Coast areas that are approaching or in retirement. However, once you get through the first couple of sections the information and discussions are more appropriate and useful for a wider audience. Both positive and negative aspects of the "Golden Years" are presented for those with and without a family support system. There are numerous resources included for tailoring to one's personal situation. An easy and understandable quick read.
The audience for this book is primarily single, childless, professional, politically liberal, women in Northeastern America and urban West Coast areas that are approaching or in retirement. However, once you get through the first couple of sections the information and discussions are more appropriate and useful for a wider audience. Both positive and negative aspects of the "Golden Years" are presented for those with and without a family support system. There are numerous resources included for tailoring to one's personal situation. An easy and understandable quick read.
August 27, 2018
Oh boy. I have a lot of work to do. But this is a clear-cut guidebook to getting things in order for old age, making sure you have enough money, good health, good friends, a happy retirement, and a plan for what to do when a crisis hits, and when you die. These are not cheery topics, but Geber, a certified retirement coach, gives you all the facts, everything from how to retirement in another country to “green” burials, along with charts and questionnaires to help you get organized. She includes the success stories and the less-than-successful stories of seniors who faced the challenges of aging. It’s all well-written, sympathetic and realistic. Highly recommended.
June 24, 2021
Wonderful Book
This book is a gift to all of us. It will walk you through every step to be considered as we deal with decisions relating to aging. She has done tremendous research to put this book together. It answers several questions that we all have regarding decisions about end of life matters.
This book is a gift to all of us. It will walk you through every step to be considered as we deal with decisions relating to aging. She has done tremendous research to put this book together. It answers several questions that we all have regarding decisions about end of life matters.
June 3, 2018
Excellent Advice For Aging Boomers With No Children
Suggests several alternatives to receive care and help with your money when you can no longer make decisions for yourself. There is a great need for this with the childless or those with children they can’t rely on.
Suggests several alternatives to receive care and help with your money when you can no longer make decisions for yourself. There is a great need for this with the childless or those with children they can’t rely on.
June 27, 2021
Clear and motivating
I'm not yet 60, but I now have assignments to plan for my future with excellent clarity and trustworthy resources. I'm going to share this book with everyone I know.
I'm not yet 60, but I now have assignments to plan for my future with excellent clarity and trustworthy resources. I'm going to share this book with everyone I know.
February 21, 2023
This was an interesting book. The term "retirement planning" normally implies financial planning, but there's very little of that here. It's more about aging, where to live, how to get care. Lots of great resources for information in here.
October 5, 2024
A great resource for aging people who don't have a spouse and/or children. Really smart advice. I went through the book and will now do a few of the worksheets. Lots of good practical advice here. Recommended by the Queer Money guys: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCs5...
April 6, 2025
pretty generic, and a good portion of the advice will be irrelevant by the time I reach retirement. but I still learned a good bit, would recommend to folks that haven't started thinking about any of this stuff at all.
February 22, 2020
Clearly written, lots of lists to use as guides.
May 13, 2021
Basic information
Really just an orientation for those who haven’t thought about their future aging. Look for a more advanced book/website/program if you have.
Really just an orientation for those who haven’t thought about their future aging. Look for a more advanced book/website/program if you have.
February 19, 2022
Excellent read for solo agers wanting to plan for their future. Very informative. Gives you the tools to make a difference in your life, empowers you to make decisions.
May 15, 2022
Written solely for baby boomers, this won’t age well. I’m not a boomer so I guess I’m planning too early?? I couldn’t get through it.
August 14, 2023
Good general information for retirement life planning.
May 27, 2018
Not as focused as I hoped.
The book provides some useful information for generic retirees. But almost all of the examples involved family or close friends supporting the elderly retirees. If you have family or close friends who can and will do this, you are by definition not aging alone. There is some aging ALONE specific discussions in Section IV but overall the book could be much better focused.
The book provides some useful information for generic retirees. But almost all of the examples involved family or close friends supporting the elderly retirees. If you have family or close friends who can and will do this, you are by definition not aging alone. There is some aging ALONE specific discussions in Section IV but overall the book could be much better focused.
October 18, 2018
This is a book for people in their 50's and 60's. It is extremely general and talks mostly about people who do have family and/or friends to help.
I am in my 80's and suddenly very sick. I live in a retirement townhouse and need directions about getting to a nursing home. I am single with no one to help. The book didn't even tell be how to find the right places. All it said is these facilities cost $2,500 to $15,000 per month.
So the book is absolutely worthless for me.
I am in my 80's and suddenly very sick. I live in a retirement townhouse and need directions about getting to a nursing home. I am single with no one to help. The book didn't even tell be how to find the right places. All it said is these facilities cost $2,500 to $15,000 per month.
So the book is absolutely worthless for me.
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February 12, 2019Not too applicable to us - we're not solo, nor are we childless. Seemed to focus more on those who had a rather large retirement portfolio, but not sure who to best use it.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews