Christine Benz views her work on The Long View podcast as a form of mandatory weekly learning, providing her with constant access to some of the brightest minds in personal finance. After spending time interviewing various thought leaders throughout 2026, she has curated a list of eight essential reads designed to help people navigate the complex transition from earning a paycheck to living off their assets. Her recommendations bridge the gap between cold mathematical calculations and the messy emotional realities of aging and retirement.
For those focusing on the logistics of leaving the workforce, Benz highlights several titles that challenge traditional wisdom. She recommends Dana Anspach’s Living Off Your Acorns for introducing the pre-go phase, urging prospective retirees to focus on their sense of purpose long before they clock out for the last time. For those struggling with the psychology of spending down their savings, Jean Chatzky’s The Forever Paycheck offers strategies to turn a nest egg into reliable lifetime income. Meanwhile, authors Cody Garrett and Sean Mullaney provide a refreshing perspective on taxation, arguing that strategic planning can actually lead to lower tax bills during retirement rather than higher ones.
Beyond individual finances, Benz emphasizes the importance of family dynamics and comprehensive education. She suggests Elliott Appel’s guide to helping aging parents as a vital resource for navigating the friction and financial strain of caregiving. ForThose seeking more academic rigor, she points toward Wade Pfau’s Retirement Planning Guidebook as an authoritative textbook for any serious student of the field, while Jamie Hopkins and Bonnie Treichel offer a more reflective experience in Your Retirement Sketchbook.
Rounding out her suggestions are two focused looks at investment philosophy meant to steady nerves during market turbulence. Ben Carlson uses historical data in Risk and Reward to remind investors that enduring volatility is simply the price of admission for long term wealth. Complementing this is Cullen Roche’s Your Perfect Portfolio, which rejects the idea of a one size fits all strategy and instead encourages investors to find a personalized approach they can realistically stick with over several decades.