If retirement planning makes you want to crawl under a weighted blanket and pretend it's not happening—How to Retire by Christine Benz might be the gentle, sensible wake-up call you didn’t know you needed.

Benz, who clearly knows her stuff (and then some), somehow makes the whole process of planning for retirement feel… dare I say… manageable? She takes what could easily be a stress-filled financial deep dive and turns it into a clear, friendly guide with just the right balance of "here’s what you need to do" and "you’re going to be okay."

The book covers everything from the usual suspects—like budgeting, investing, and Social Security—to the stuff we often forget matters just as much, like how to not lose your sense of purpose once you’re no longer clocking in at 9 a.m. Or how to not drive your spouse insane when you're suddenly around 24/7.

It’s organized into 20 bite-sized lessons, each based on conversations with experts. And no, you don’t need to be a finance nerd to get through it. The writing is easy to follow, jargon is kept to a minimum, and you won’t feel like you’re studying for a pop quiz at the end. It’s more like a retirement GPS—minus the irritating “recalculating” voice.

One of my favorite things is how Benz doesn’t pretend retirement is all beaches and golf. She’s realistic but never pessimistic. She reminds you that yes, money matters, but so does your mental health, relationships, and having something to get out of bed for that isn’t just breakfast.

Whether you’re a few years from retiring or already practicing your “sorry, I’m retired” speech, this book will give you the confidence to move forward—with a plan, a purpose, and maybe even a little excitement. Highly recommend for anyone who wants to retire smart and stay sane doing it.

Thank you, Harriman House and NetGalley for the ARC!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆ (4/5)
Practical, thorough, and refreshingly straightforward. Christine Benz breaks down retirement planning without overwhelming the reader, making this a fantastic guide whether you're years away or already close. An excellent resource, particularly for readers new to financial planning.

There are plenty of ‘how to retire’ books on the market but this one is unique in that is not a generalist compilation of advice but offers almost two dozen specific ‘lessons in retirement wealth planning’, each one having been contributed by an expert in the field: from nurturing relationships to analysing and creating personal spending, from identifying retirement income styles to assessing home equity and planning for taxes, this book is a pure gem. Although much of the advice is geared towards future U.S. American retirees, the various lessons can easily be adapted by U.K. retirees – and may well spark thoughts and discussions that would not otherwise have occurred. I particularly liked the book’s warm, conversational and true-to-life tone, with lesson 7 – ‘give yourself permission to spend on what matters to you’ really resonating with me. Warmly recommended for everyone who is within a few years of retirement – and for younger readers, too. I wish to thank NetGalley and the publishers for the free ARC I received in exchange for this unbiased review.

I am in my 20’s, I honestly have no business reading a book about retirement when that seems decades away. However, while I might not be the book’s intended audience, I still found the book an incredible resource and I can definitely see myself picking this book up in 20-30 years to start my journey in planning for retirement.

Some chapters that I found thought-provoking such as the chapter on the bucket system for your retirement funds. I also enjoyed the chapters that talked about how to find meaning and fulfillment in retirement because although I want to retire early, it is just as important to find purpose and ways to fill my time.

Thank you for this ARC.
My husband read this not me and said it contained very useful information and he is now planning our retirement - he asked me to give it 4 stars.

How to Retire by Christine Benz

Posted on December 4, 2024 by Jack

Are you planning to retire? Have you already retired and want to make it better? Do you know someone who might be in one of those groups? This is probably a good book for anyone in those groups. Christine Benz, director of personal finance and retirement planning at Morningstar, has written a wonderful book with a series of conversations with experts in various areas related to a successful retirement. The full title is How to Retire: 20 lessons for a happy, successful, and wealthy retirement .

Although the title suggested (at least to me) that this book would mainly be about getting ready for retirement, I was mostly wrong. It is about getting ready but there is so much more. The book is great for those nearing retirement but there is much that is valuable for those of us already retired. And it could also benefit those younger folks who are thinking ahead and considering options like retirement or semi-retirement.


I am over 15 years into retirement now, and still found the book interesting with many useful ideas. I read the advanced reading copy (ARC) on my Kindle before publication but various things came-up and I am just writing the review now. I thank Netgalley for the ARC. The book is easy to read and since each chapter covers one conversation you don’t have to read the chapters in any particular order or you can skip parts that don’t seem to apply to you. I plan on getting a printed copy and keeping it on my bookshelf as a reference for me as well as others.

At the end of each conversation Christine Benz summarizes the main points and gives references for further reading if you want to learn more. Many of the references are online so most readers should be able to access them easily. I liked that several different viewpoints were covered on several of the issues. Foe example, some experts on the financial aspects of retirement liked annuities while others disliked them.

The non-financial aspects of retirement are also well covered.

I highly recommend this book for those who are already retired or getting close to retirement age. Those decades away from retirement could also benefit.

With so many books available on retirement, this one is a breath of fresh air. The author interviews several experts and then ends each chapter with a succinct summary of takeaways. The most enlightening topics are the ones that consider more than finances- what will you do with your time? What are your goals for that stage of your life?

Whilst this is written for the American market so a lot of the references do not apply here in the UK I still found some useful nuggets that have helped me as I look to take early retirement.

Lots of great information. This book shares some ideas I hadn’t heard before which is a nice change.
A quick read with information that will certainly help you plan a great retirement.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

A great informative, easy to follow insight from lots of folks that are experts in their field (finance and retirement). My biggest take away moment is how it tells us to not hang on for the weekend during our transition to retirement but rather do things on a week night, so your life isn’t hanging on for the weekend. I loved this idea, so many hours (evenings) as we think we can’t go out on a school night.
Having said that, the majority of the book is completely skewed to American information and would not be relevant in any other country.

How to Retire was really enlightening. It didn't only include financial information. It included interviews about the importance of community and remaining social in later years. One thing that really struck me was that most healthy people are happiest in their own homes through their 70s and then report being happier in an apartment situation after 80. It really changed my thinking about my future. The social security information was also informative in regards to what spouses should do and when they should start collecting. This isn't one of those "you're screwed if you haven't been saving for retirement" books. It's uplifting, informative, and hopeful. The writing style was very engaging, too. It was a series of interviews with different experts that made it very readable and digestible.

This is a book that I will want to turn to again and again as I move toward retirement age. Christine Benz interviews experts in the field of finance and retirement, then wraps up her interview with key takeaways. The layout of the book is such that a reader can flip to a section and come away with a better understanding, or read straight through and learn more about how various opinions might align better than others.

I highly recommend this to libraries and universities, and anyone who plans to retire.

Although this is an American book and the financial advice is not directly applicable, there is some good thought-provoking advice.
As someone who’s not too far off retirement, there’s some stuff that’s got me thinking, including what it is about being in the workplace that makes me happy and how I can create habits before I retire eg for social interaction.
I’d recommend it with the caveat that the financial advice is not uk-adapted.

Practical questions to consider when approaching retirement. What will your day/week look like and can you afford it? Retirement is not just about whether or not you can afford it, it's a psychological adjustment of perhaps 40+ years of your life.
There is an American bias, so the financial aspects were less useful to UK audiences than the behavioural pointers.

This was an interesting book, despite being American and therefore in parts (e.g. relating to social security, taxes etc) slightly less relevant for UK readers. However, I kept finding myself quoting sections of it to my husband (whose mother is in her late 70s but still working because she is burying her head in the sand rather than facing the various retirement issues head on!) Thought provoking and well worth a read even for those who are several years / decades from retirement; it's never too early to start pondering this stuff.

How to Retire has received rave reviews and I can see why. Ms Benz has put together an easy to read book, with chapters that can be referred to again and again. Her interviews are easy to read and informative. I will be using this book over and over and it will be recommended. Many thanks to NetGalley, Ms Benz, and Harriman House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Very interesting read for those of us approaching retirement.
While the financial advise is more relevant to those in the US I found the practical advise invaluable

Some useful nuggets of wisdom here to provoke thought when approaching retirement - particularly on having purpose, being able to adjust plans as life takes a different course from the one you may have planned, and thinking about what your daily and weekly calendar might look like, as well as the big activities you want to spend time on. There’s also some sound advice on having a ‘trial run’ of your retirement plans, to see whether they do actually work out as well as you hope they will!

However, most of the book is devoted to financial planning, and is clearly aimed at US readers with fairly significant wealth. Some of the more general advice will apply internationally, but the rest really needs localising to UK tax and pension systems to be relevant for a UK readership.

An interesting skim-read, from which I will take away a couple of thoughts to bear in mind. But unless you’re a US citizen sitting on a substantial investment pot, this isn’t the book for you.

This is an interesting book with a US focus. A lot of it is about finance, which is t quite what I was expecting, but the first chapter about your vision for retirement is invaluable. It really draws out how to have a happy retirement, one you can realistically achieve on a day to day basis rather than having a few big ideas but basically thinking that retirement is like a weekend or holiday. I found the book worth reading for these insights even before you go more in depth about finance.

Very well structured and highly readable. Each of the twenty lessons is set up as a conversation between Christine Benz and a leading expert in a distinct aspect of retirement. Each lesson finishes with a summary of 'key take-aways' and a 'related resources' section (featuring additional links to podcasts, pdfs etc. with further detailed information). Although some of the finance bits are quite US-specific (US Social Security, US tax etc.), the general principles and 'behavioural' suggestions on how to ensure a happy retirement make this book well-worth reading for those considering retirement in the next few years. Special thank you to Harriman House & NetGalley for a no obligation digital advance review copy.