The Worst-Case Scenario Pocket Guide: Retirement

Introduction

When we think about retirement, the images we hold in our heads are generally happy ones. We see ourselves sitting on the beach, golfing, fishing, playing bridge. We see ourselves taking up hobbies, volunteering, or finally starting that novel. We see ourselves traveling to exciting new places, visiting family regularly, and drinking cocktails with friends at increasingly early hours.

But as we’ve learned during more than twenty years of researching and writing Worst-Case Scenario® books, you just never know when things are going to take a sudden turn for the worse. While you can enjoy planning for pleasant dreams of retirement, you also need to be prepared for nightmarescome- true. Whether you’re driving a golf cart in a hurricane or docking your yacht in a typhoon, spotting a card cheat or getting your child to move out of the house, this handy pocket guide is the required resource for a happy and safe result.

In the best worst-case tradition, we provide illustrated, step-by-step instructions on surviving these perils, and offer Instant Solutions to protect you against a variety of other threats. We also provide essential charts, such as the worst retirement locations, retirement ages when Social Security benefits kick in, and labor-expanding tips to fill your day. And to fill those long, empty afternoons (and perhaps save your sanity or at least your marriage), there are lists—questions to ask your spouse and things that aren’t as good as they used to be.

So congratulations on entering this new phase of life—and be on guard for a new set of dangers. You may have retired but danger and disaster have not.

—The Authors