Table Of ContentAdditional
Praise
for
Retire Secure!
“Retire Secure! is a very practical investment guide on how to defer taxes and
efficiently plan for retirement and your estate.”
— Roger G. Ibbotson
Professor, Yale School of Management
Chairman, Ibbotson Associates
“In Retire Secure!, CPA and tax attorney James Lange provides clear guidance for
understanding the process of making your money last during distribution. The author is
an experienced advisor and it shows.”
— Phyllis Bernstein, CPA/PFS
Former Director, AICPA Personal Financial Planning
and Author of Financial Planning for CPAs
“Jim Lange’s book is a must in the retirement library of anyone with a large IRA. Not
only does it provide thorough coverage of a difficult topic, but it does so with crisp
writing, surrounded with charts and tables to help you understand your options. I
wholeheartedly recommend Retire Secure!
— Robert S. Keebler
CPA, MST, Author, Educator
“Everyone planning for retirement should read this book.”
— Dr. Allan Meltzer
Political Economy Professor, Carnegie Mellon University
“Written for the sophisticated and successful lay person (and a great guide for
professionals working in this field), Retire Secure! is like a master class in the subject
with the instructor taking the student by the hand through each step of the process. Jim
Lange, a practicing CPA and attorney, provides both key real-world questions and
answers—as well as numerous examples, illustrations, and practical side-bar
comments.”
— Stephan R. Leimberg
CEO, Leimberg Information Services, Inc. (LISI)
“Retire Secure! shows how to maximize retirement income while explaining IRA and
retirement plan rules in language you can understand (and that is no easy task). Every
retiree should read James Lange’s chapter on Optimal Spending Strategies for
Retirees.”
— Gregory Kolojeski
President, Brentmark Software
“There are few areas of financial planning more complex than making decisions about
retirement plans. Retire Secure! not only explains many of these issues in plain
English but Jim provides the reader with common sense guidance in making choices.
As advocates of the important role that philanthropy plays in raising financially
responsible children, we especially appreciate the inclusion of a chapter on charitable
estate planning with IRA and retirement assets.”
— Eileen Gallo, Ph.D and Jon Gallo, J.D.
Authors, Silver Spoon Kids and
The Financially Intelligent Parent
“IRA and other retirement plan assets comprise a huge and growing component of so
many people’s wealth, yet the growth in these important assets requires sound,
practical, and most important, understandable advice. All had been lacking until this
excellent book, Retire Secure!, by James Lange. James brings to the fore practical tact
usable by both attorney and accountant on how to deal with these critical assets.
Topics that he delves into, including using trusts to protect beneficiaries are topics that
few lay people are aware of and most professionals don’t address. Protect yourself
and your family with the insightful comments of Retire Secure!”
— Martin M. Shenkman, Attorney
Author, Inherit More
“Jim Lange has updated and improved his material in this fine book. We have always
said that the planning comes before the doing. He tells you how to plan your
retirement, to maximize your wealth and to minimize your taxes.”
— Garry D. Kinder, CLU, RFC
Author, Lecturer and Financial Industry Consultant The KBI Group
“This new version of Retire Secure! shows you more great ideas to help you achieve
the most important financial goal of your life. Make your money last and go further
than you ever thought possible.”
— Brian Tracy, Speaker, Sales Trainer
Author, Getting Rich Your Own Way
“Advisor James Lange has written the definitive up-to-the-minute guide for retirement
planning. Retire Secure! is absolutely “essential” reading for all practitioners in the
estate and retirement planning field, as well as for those brave souls who take this task
on as a do-it-yourself project.”
— Jack Gargan, Founder
International Association of Registered Financial Consultants Author,
The Complete Estate Planning Guide
“The flexible Lange’s Cascading Beneficiary Plan offers a practical solution to the
bewildering array of qualified retirement options – many of which are improperly
used. Jim’s book makes a valuable contribution to the field of personal finance – for
both the consumers and the professional advisors who serve them!”
— Edwin P. Morrow, CLU, ChFC, CFP, CEP, RFC Chairman & CEO,
International Association. of Registered Financial Consultants
“Retire Secure! should be in everyone’s home who has money to invest. It is well
written and in language that anyone can understand. I plan to make this book available
for my children and grandchildren to read.”
— Frank Thomas
Former Pittsburgh Pirate (286 home runs)
“If taxes were the only consideration in financial planning, I’d give James Lange, JD,
CPA a one hundred percent grade! Every financial advisor ought to have a copy of
Retire Secure! at his or her fingertips, plus copies to give more serious clients. After
clients have been taught how to save and where to place their investments, James
Lange’s book is the definitive answer to the very important tax considerations.”
— Vernon D. Gwynne, CFP, RFC
Chairman Emeritus & Former Director of Financial Planning
Association
“Retire Secure! does a fine job of explaining why, when and how folks should move
money into, out of, and between the myriad tax-advantaged employer-sponsored
retirement savings plans and IRAs. The key points are summarized clearly, but a more
thorough, equally clear explanation is also offered for those who want it. The book is
well-organized, with plenty of practical examples. It will be a valuable resource to
people in both the accumulation and distribution of their retirement assets—and to
their advisors, as well.”
— Michael T. Palermo, Attorney, CFP
Author, AARP Crash Course in Estate Planning
“Read this book before you meet with any tax or financial advisor about how to get the
most out of your IRA, 401(k) or other retirement plans. Retire Secure! will help you
ask the right questions and find out if your advisors really know what they’re talking
about.”
— Paul Merriman, Financial Educator
Author, Live It Up Without Outliving Your Money:
Getting the Most from your Investments in Retirement
“You’ve worked hard to build-up your retirement funds – now, finish the job and read
the new edition of Lange’s Retire Secure! You should carefully examine each of his
main points, and take full advantage of his suggestions to stretch your money as long as
possible before paying taxes. In these troubled times, Lange’s ideas are particularly
relevant.”
— John A. Tracy, Ph.D., CPA, Author
How to Read a Financial Report and Accounting For Dummies
“Jim created the most flexible and effective estate guide for IRA and retirement plan
owners.”
— Charles “Tremendous” Jones, RFC
Author, Life Is Tremendous
“Jim has done a brilliant job making a complicated topic easy to understand. His
“Case Studies” and “Key Ideas” in Retire Secure! are smart and spot on.”
— Bill Losey, CFP, Author
Retire in a Weekend! The Baby Boomer’s Guide to Making Work
Optional
“James Lange is a genius at making the most difficult subject of estate/retirement
planning easy to understand. His book is an absolute must for anyone who wants the
peace of mind that comes from knowing they will retire secure.”
— Eleanor Schano
Former TV News Anchor, Host LifeQuest
(WQED Multimedia)
“Nice girls eventually become old women who want to retire. Let this book help you
to ensure you have all the money you need to live your life the way you want in
retirement.”
— Lois P. Frankel, Ph.D.
Author, Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office: Unconscious
Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers
“A clear, concise, and well-written book that explains where and how to save for
retirement so that you don’t outlive your assets, pay too much in taxes, or have too
little to pass on to your heirs. In non-technical terms, James Lange compares and
contrasts various strategies for the accumulation, preservation, and the distribution of
wealth. No one should invest in a retirement plan, or take a distribution from one, until
he or she has first read Retire Secure!”
— Gary S. Lesser, JD
Author, Roth IRA Answer Book
“Jim Lange is a clear and concise communicator. He takes the complicated and makes
it simple. Retire Secure! is a must read for anyone wanting a secure financial future.”
— Diane L. McCurdy, CFP
Author, How Much is Enough?
“Retire Secure! is the most well-written explanation of why maximizing the use of
your retirement accounts, both tax-deferred and tax-free, will help you to retire with as
much financial security as possible. Every serious individual investor should read this
book!”
— James M. Dahle, MD
Author, The White Coat Investor: A Doctor’s Guide to Personal
Finance and Investing
“Whether you are an individual planning for, or in, retirement, or a financial advisor,
Jim Lange’s Retire Secure! is a must read. The book, while addressing complex
issues, is written in plain, simple language.
It also provides many concrete examples of how the recommendations can be
implemented. This book belongs in everyone’s library to be referred to over and over
again.”
— Larry Swedroe,
Director of Research of the BAM ALLIANCE Author, The Incredible
Shrinking Alpha and Reducing the Risk of Black Swans
Copyright 2015 by James Lange. All rights reserved.
Published by James Lange, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the
1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the
publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the
Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978)
750-8400, fax (978) 750-4470, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the
publisher for permission should be addressed to James Lange, 2200 Murray Avenue,
Pittsburgh, PA 15217, (412) 521-2732, or fax (412) 521-2285.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used
their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties
with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and
specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a
particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives
or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be
suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate.
Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other
commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or
other damages.
Cartoons by Michael McParlane.
Description:A comprehensive and easy-to-understand guide to maximizing the benefits of IRAs and retirement assets. Retire Secure! Third Edition offers unbeatable recommendations for addressing the #1 fear facing most readers: Running out of money. Retire Secure! Third Edition also shows baby boomers nearing ret