• Richard N Bolles & John E Nelson • Ten Speed Press
• $39.99 
It comes to us all – or does it? Retirement I mean. We think about it, but not much. Some, but few apparently, even plan for it. Too many simply give up the unequal battle and make of it what they can.
That, in some part, is what prompted the current government to foist KiwiSaver on us. And the pressures to cope with life after our “primary career” won’t get any easier any day soon. Look at what it costs to throw roof over the head these days.
So, take another look at what lies ahead and turn the problem into an opportunity. So write Richard N Bolles, the author of the highly successful original What Color is Your Parachute?, and John Nelson, retirement planning researcher, writer and speaker with whom Bolles has collaborated to produce this latest in the series.
The advice is take another tack. Enjoy retirement and relish the prospect. Most of all remember it’s not just about money, unless of course you don’t have much. Then, as Mae West pointed out: “I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor, and rich is better.” Retirement is equally about health and state of mind.
This easy-to-read guide to making more of what one of the authors calls the “fourth movement” in the symphony of life, is worth read. It is sensible, practical and provides some profoundly helpful insights into how we feel when we reach the time when retirement, in whatever form it takes, is consideration.
