Wi$eUp Experts

Financial experts respond to questions from Gen X'ers registered for the Women's Bureau demonstration project. Representing a broad cross-section of financial expertise from across the United States, these professionals have volunteered their time and knowledge to support the Wi$eUp project.

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Areas of Expertise: Calculating future needs Financial planning Retirement savings

Ellen Hoffman is a free-lance writer, author and speaker specializing in retirement and personal finance issues. Her website is www.retirementcatchup.com .

Currently Ellen writes "Your Retirement," a column for Business Week Online, and contributes frequently to Business Week magazine.

For several years she was the Washington columnist for "Retire With Money," a newsletter previously published by Money magazine, and also wrote articles for Money. A former Washington Post reporter, she has had articles published in Reader's Digest, New Choices for Better Living After 50, AARP Bulletin, Individual Investor, Kiplinger Retirement Report, and many other national publications.

Ellen has written two books on retirement. In The Retirement Catch-up Guide: 54 Real-Life Lessons to Boost Your Retirement Resources Now! ( Newmarket Press, 2002) she tells the stories of the strategies that 54 different people used to bolster their savings after realizing that they did not have enough for retirement. Bankroll Your Future Retirement with Help from Uncle Sam (Newmarket Press, 2001) is an easy-to-read primer on the basic workings of key retirement programs and policies including Social Security and Medicare.

In April 2005 Michelle Singletary, the Washington Post’s personal finance columnist, chose The Retirement Catch-Up Guide as the selection of the month for her Color of Money book club. Ellen has also received a national “Mature Media Award” for an article on how state taxes affect retirees, published in New Choices for Better Living After 50.

A speaker and workshop presenter, Ellen has appeared on NBC’s “Today Show,” CNBC, Fox News and numerous other radio and television shows to discuss retirement issues.

Many people are so intimidated and confused by the flood of financial information coming from employers, brokerage houses and the Internet that they don't know how to begin to prepare for their own financial future. Through all of her professional activities, Ellen Hoffman addresses this problem by providing crucial information in words that the average American can understand-- and act on-- to work toward a better future.