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Contact:  Ed Emerman (609) 452-5967

New Book Recommends Different Way of Thinking About Retirement for the 21st Century

WASHINGTON, D.C., December, 2004 — Retiring full time in our fifties or early sixties isn’t the only way to achieve happiness in our later years, and it may not be the best way according to a new book. In Live Long & Prosper! Invest in Your Happiness, Health and Wealth for Retirement and Beyond, author Steve Vernon defines a new model for retirement and provides simple, effective strategies for living a prosperous, fulfilling “rest-of-life.”

“The baby boom generation has an outdated, 20th century model of retirement in our minds,” explains Vernon, a consulting actuary who has spent nearly 30 years helping employers design and deliver retirement programs. “That is, work hard at a job you may not like very much, then retire full-time, preferably in your late fifties or early sixties.”

Vernon argues that it is much more realistic and healthy to move beyond the traditional view of retirement, especially given longer life expectancies, low savings rates among baby boomers, rising health care costs, potential cutbacks in Social Security and various other trends. “Most Americans do not have the resources to retire in their early sixties and then live comfortably for an additional 20 to 30 years,” says Vernon. “But that doesn’t have to be a threat to our happiness.”

Vernon’s new model for rest-of-life calls for working part-time into our late sixties, seventies, or even beyond, but with work that is interesting and fulfilling. It also includes taking care of our health and adopting financial strategies that ensure we don’t outlive our retirement savings.

Based on the latest research and sophisticated analyses that are typically reserved for large corporations, it helps readers answer these important questions:

• Do you have enough money to retire when you want? If not, when?
• How can you manage your income and expenses such that you don’t outlive your 401(k) balances?
• How can you invest now in your health, so that you won’t be wiped out by large medical expenses? What can you do now to live a long, productive and meaningful life?
• What can you expect from Social Security and Medicare?
• What’s the best work/life balance for prosperity and fulfillment?

Live Long & Prosper! advocates that you think beyond the traditional view of retirement, and begin planning for the rest of your life. “Action steps that we take in our forties, fifties and sixties will have a profound influence on our happiness, health and financial well-being in our seventies, eighties, nineties and beyond,” says Vernon. “In 30 years, we’ll see that the haves and have nots will correlate well with the dids and the did nots – those that did prepare for their rest-of-life will have a prosperous, fulfilling life. “

Live Long and Prosper! is highly enjoyable and easy to read, and describes Steve’s quest to figure out how to address our challenges and live long, purposeful lives. It gives boomers hope and a plan for a fulfilling and prosperous future.

About the Author

Steve Vernon is a Vice President and Consulting Actuary with Watson Wyatt Worldwide. For 30 years, he has helped large corporations design, administer, communicate and fund their retirement, benefits, and rewards programs. He has published two prior books with John Wiley & Sons, titled:

• Employee Benefits: Valuation, Analysis and Strategies
• Don’t Work Forever!, Simple Steps Baby Boomers Must Take To Ever Retire

Live Long & Prosper! Invest in Your Happiness, Health and Wealth for Retirement and Beyond John Wiley & Sons, December 17, 2004, softcover $19.95 ISBN: 0-471-68344-2

For more information, see www.restoflife.com or www.watsonwyatt.com.