Physics, Chemistry, Astronomy, Biology; every field has its intellectual giants who made breakthrough discoveries that changed the course of history. What about the topic of retirement planning? Is it a science? Or is retirement income planning just a collection of rules-of-thumb, financial products and sales pitches? In The 7 Most Important Equations for Your Retirement...And the Stories Behind Them Moshe Milevsky argues that twenty first century retirement income planning is indeed a science and has its foundations in the work of great sages who made conceptual and controversial breakthroughs over the last eight centuries.

In the book Milevsky highlights the work of seven scholars-summarized by seven equations-who shaped all modern retirement calculations. He tells the stories of Leonardo Fibonnaci the Italian businessman; Benjamin Gompertz the gentleman actuary; Edmund Halley the astronomer; Irving Fisher the stock jock; Paul Samuelson the economic guru; Solomon Heubner the insurance and marketing visionary, and Andrey Kolmogorov the Russian mathematical genius-all giants in their respective fields who collectively laid the foundations for modern retirement income planning.

• With baby boomers starting to hit retirement age, planning for retirement income has become a hot topic across the country
• Author Moshe Milevsky is an internationally-respected financial expert with the knowledge you need to assess whether you are ready to retire or not
• Presents an entertaining, informative narrative approach to financial planning

Understanding the ideas behind these seven foundation equations-which Moshe Milevsky explains in a manner that everyone can appreciate-will help baby boomers better prepare for retirement. This is a book unlike anything you have ever read on retirement planning. Think Suze Orman meets Stephen Hawking. If you ever wondered what the point of all that high school mathematics was, Moshe Milevsky''s answer is: So that you can figure out how to retire...while you can still enjoy your money.

From the introduction: An equation can''t predict your future . . . But it can help you plan for it

Most books about retirement planning are written as guides, instruction manuals or "how-to" books. The authors tell you what to do, when to do it, and what to expect. I know this quite well because I have authored many such tomes myself.

Rest assured, this is not one of those books.

This book tells stories which I hope will lead into conversations. It is a narrative involving seven people, their discoveries and the conceptual innovations that made it possible for you to stop working and enjoy the money you have accumulated, one day. These protagonists-or scientific heroes-didn''t achieve their breakthroughs while hunched over a laboratory workbench, peering through a microscope or trekking through jungles. They made their discoveries sitting in front of a blank sheet of paper, but while thinking very carefully about life and money. And, like the greatest thinker of them all, Albert Einstein, they too expressed their discoveries using a very beautiful language called mathematics. Alas, the seven equations profiled in this book aren''t as famous or as elegant as the simplicity of E = MC 2, but they are far more practical for your retirement.

Yes, I know from many years of teaching experience that financial conversations are often dry and humorless. So I promise to do my best to lighten up the topic by keeping the technicalities to a minimum and focusing on the art.

"Art," you say?

Yes. In my mind, famous equations are like beautiful Picassos. Even if I don''t quite understand the painting or the mathematics I can certainly appreciate the beauty and genius behind it. The seven equations presented in this book typify, at least for me, the conciseness, elegance and beauty that the best of the best equations demonstrate. By the end of this book, if you''re not already inclined to appreciate mathematical equations for what they are, I hope you''ll agree about the beauty.