The Five Years Before You Retire

Emily Guy Birken's The Five Years Before You Retire provides a step-by-step playbook for people approaching retirement, focusing on actionable moves in the critical final years.

The book helps readers assess how much is enough, forecast budgets and lumpy expenses, decide on health insurance and Social Security timing, and close retirement savings gaps.

Written in a clear, accessible style, it emphasizes psychological preparation and realistic trade-offs as well as technical planning.

Birken combines research, practical checklists, and anecdotes to help readers prioritize tasks and avoid common mistakes.

The book is aimed at those within roughly five years of retirement who want to improve outcomes without unnecessary complexity.