The Retirement Specialist
Why Retirement Requires Expertise and How to Find It
Book by Dr. Eric T. Ludwig, Ph.D., CFP®, RICP®
About the Book
You’ve spent decades building wealth with your financial advisor. They may have helped you save, invest, and get you to retirement with a substantial portfolio.
But the skills required to build wealth are fundamentally different from the expertise needed to make it last 30+ years in retirement.
The Retirement Specialist shows you:
- Why retirement income planning is a distinct specialization (like cardiology vs. general practice in medicine)
- The dangerous defaults accumulation advisors use when they lack specialized training
- How to evaluate whether your current advisor has retirement income expertise
- What comprehensive retirement income planning actually looks like
- How to find a qualified specialist if you need one
This isn’t about criticizing your current advisor. It’s about recognizing when your needs have evolved beyond their area of expertise, and giving you the framework to make an informed decision about one of the most important professional relationships of your retirement.
Written for pre-retirees and recent retirees with $1M+ in investable assets who want to ensure their financial professional has the specialized expertise this phase demands.
Most financial advisors are trained in accumulation strategies, growing portfolios during your working years. Very few have specialized training in retirement income planning: managing sustainable withdrawals, optimizing taxes across multiple account types, coordinating Social Security strategies, and navigating the complex risks unique to the retirement phase.
About the Author
Dr. Eric T. Ludwig, Ph.D., CFP®, RICP®
is co-founder and CEO of Stockbridge Private Wealth Management, specializing in retirement income planning for clients with $1M+ in investable assets.
As Director of the Center for Retirement Income and the RICP® (Retirement Income Certified Professional) program at The American College of Financial Services, Eric oversees the professional education of over 12,000 financial advisors in retirement income strategies.
His research on retirement planning has been published in leading media outlets, and he presents regularly at industry conferences.
Eric holds a Ph.D. focusing on investor psychology and behavioral finance, and brings both academic rigor and practical experience to retirement income planning.
Get Your Free Retirement Specialist Selection Checklist
The comprehensive companion resource to The Retirement Specialist
This 8-step checklist gives you everything you need to evaluate and select a retirement income specialist:
✓ Specific questions to ask during initial meetings (with the answers you should hear)
✓ Step-by-step credential verification process with direct links to regulatory databases
✓ Red flags that signal an advisor lacks retirement income expertise
✓ Script for transitioning from your current advisor professionally
✓ Links to professional directories and verification tools
✓ Timeline and process for making a change
Whether you’ve read the book or are just starting your search, this checklist will guide you through one of the most important professional decisions of your retirement.
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