Laurence Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and author of the forthcoming book, MONEY MAGIC: An Economist’s Secrets to More Money, Less Risk, and a Better Life. We discuss the differences between an economist's approach to financial planning versus Wall Street's. Kotlikoff shares unconventional wisdom, such as the benefit of paying off your mortgage with your IRA in retirement, how some professions are better to pursue in terms of lifetime earnings (clue: it's not medicine) and why delaying retirement by just two years can enhance financial security.

More about Laurence: He is Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fellow of the Econometric Society, Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, President of Economic Security Planning, Inc., and Director of the Fiscal Analysis Center. Professor Kotlikoff has written 20 books and hundreds of professional articles and Op-Eds. He is a New York Times best-selling author and a frequent television and radio guest. His columns have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, The Boston Globe, Bloomberg, Forbes, Yahoo.com, Fortune, and other major publications. In 2014, The Economist named him one of the world’s 25 most influential economists. Learn more about his work and find additional resources by visiting his website here.