Where Did Boston Go?

Retirement planning at its best.

From the foreword by Kenneth Der: MBA, MST, MFS, CPA, CFP, RICP “Where Did Boston Go?” is absolutely brilliant and a must read for anyone with a retirement account. It is the best explanation of the natural forces impacting retirement plans that I have ever seen in one source.

The primary takeaway is that traditional retirement accounts, which have been recommended for years by virtually all financial advisors, can be a trap from which it is difficult to escape.

The author explains many complex retirement dynamics in a clear and understandable fashion. The analysis was not constructed to defend any predetermined viewpoint. The answers were not known in advance; they were discovered.

This book does not simply express an opinion. The conclusions are based upon strategic analysis that takes into account natural forces which must be dealt with. You will gain insight into topics and concepts that you most likely have never been exposed to before. They are all critical concepts. There are some unexpected outcomes regarding traditional retirement accounts. The conclusion that 80% of traditional retirement account money can vanish is astonishing but valid. You will learn the rationale supporting that conclusion.“Where Did Boston Go?” provides a strategy and retirement plan whereny you can realize the most from the money you have.

Insights from Chapter 1

You are going to explore a strategy for realizing the most from the money you have for retirement. The strategy is valid and compelling whether you have one thousand dollars to invest each year or one million. The underlying philosophy is that you earn what you earn and the money you have is the money you have. You cannot simply go to the store and get more. You have to live your life, with all of its unexpected challenges, and you will set aside what you can for retirement. The strategy is applicable even if you already have more than enough money for your retirement needs. You still want to realize the most from the money you have. This is not a book promising a magical path to riches. You will not be told how much money you need to retire or that you need to save more. Saving more always is better; there is not much wisdom in that. There are many books on retirement that speak about their own plan, guide, roadmap or secrets to retirement bliss. There is no such plan; there are only strategies to get there. An internet search quickly will identify numerous articles purporting to have the top five best retirement strategies or the top ten. You will even find “The single best!” Nonsense. These are not strategies at all; they are commonly held opinions. A strategy is based on rigorous analysis driven by fundamental natural forces. You will examine the development of the strategy, including supporting analyses. These steps are important because they establish a foundation of credibility. If you understand the concepts and the supporting analyses, you will have confidence in the conclusions. To establish that credibility you need to look at some exhibits. It is not complicated. Exhibits demonstrate the analyses and resulting conclusions. You will explore case studies demonstrating the impact of inevitable natural forces on retirement. You will discover how powerful these forces are and how much they reduce retirement dollars actually realized. You will understand why there is no such thing as an average rate of return, and learn how volatility, fees, commissions, taxes, inflation and currency-risk erode the purchasing power of a traditional retirement account.Traditional retirement accounts are 100% taxable. That means you will lose an amount of retirement money equal to your tax rate. Your retirement money is capped, while the amount siphoned off by government taxing authorities is variable and uncapped; that is a recipe for disaster.