In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:

• Prioritizing safety and guarantees

• Selling only contractual commitments

• Using PILL to guide purpose

Key Takeaways:

• Annuities should focus on protecting principal and providing a reliable income. Strong insurance carrier backing ensures certainty and reduces risk. Avoiding speculative products maintains financial security for clients.

• Only offer annuities with contractual guarantees, not hypothetical promises. Market-based growth claims are often unrealistic and misleading. Contractual commitments provide clarity and protect client interests.

• PILL stands for principal protection, income for life, legacy, and long-term care. This framework aligns annuities with client goals and priorities. It provides a clear structure for evaluating annuity suitability.

"With annuities, you're transferring the risk to the life insurance company that issues the annuity." — Stan The Annuity Man

Connect with The Annuity Man:

Website: http://theannuityman.com/

Email: Stan@TheAnnuityMan.com

Book: Owner's Manuals: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/how-do-annuities-work

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXKKxvVslbeGAlEc5sra2g

Get a Quote Today: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/annuity-calculator!

In case you missed it, I have decided to circle back to one of my Fun With Annuities episodes that just cannot be missed. This one has annuity gold, and it is definitely a must-listen.

In this episode, The Annuity Man and Moshe Milevsky discuss:

• The problem with annuities

• What's a tontine?

• How income increases with tontines

• The gap between healthspan and lifespan

Key Takeaways:

• The point of annuities is to generate a predictable income even when you can no longer make decisions yourself due to cognitive decline. That's why agents have to make sure the clients understand and continue to understand what they are buying and what contractual guarantees they have in place.

• A tontine is one of the many strategies people use to finance themselves in retirement, in which the longest-living people get the most income, while the people who didn't live a long time get a smaller amount of income.

• Tontines increase the income for all living people involved as time passes because the same income amount is being split within a group that gets smaller as members pass away. The mortality rate becomes a real interest rate - this is most interesting in the current inflationary times.

• Money alone doesn't solve your problems; just throwing money at a problem won't make it go away. You need to do something with it to solve your problems, and one of the biggest problems in aging is the gap between health span and lifespan.

"When you have a product that is meant to help people that are eventually going to cognitively decline, there's a higher burden of care there because you got to make sure that they understand what they're buying and they continue to understand what they're buying." — Moshe Milevsky

Connect with Moshe Milevsky:

Website: https://moshemilevsky.com/

Connect with The Annuity Man:

Website: http://theannuityman.com/

Email: Stan@TheAnnuityMan.com

Book: Owner's Manuals: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/how-do-annuities-work

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXKKxvVslbeGAlEc5sra2g

Get a Quote Today: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/annuity-calculator!

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:

• Distinguishing annuity types

• Applying the PILL strategy

• Interpreting annuity yields

• Securing contractual understanding

Key Takeaways:

• Understanding the purpose of different annuities is crucial: MYGAs provide guaranteed interest on principal like a CD, while SPIAs deliver a lifetime income stream tailored to longevity. Each serves a distinct financial goal.

• The "PILL" framework—Principal protection, Income for life, Legacy, Long-term care—helps determine whether an annuity aligns with your needs and long-term planning priorities.

• Evaluating yields requires nuance: MYGA interest compounds tax-deferred without reducing principal, whereas SPIA "rates" reflect life expectancy and combine principal with interest, making direct comparisons misleading.

• Before purchasing, ensure you fully understand an annuity's contractual guarantees, avoid relying on hypothetical rates, and seek reliable sources for accurate information to make informed decisions.

"We're looking at a principal-protected product and an income product. Now right there. You should say, I'm not sure we can compare those two… because [they're] two different categories." — Stan The Annuity Man

Connect with The Annuity Man:

Website: http://theannuityman.com/

Email: Stan@TheAnnuityMan.com

Book: Owner's Manuals: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/how-do-annuities-work

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXKKxvVslbeGAlEc5sra2g

Get a Quote Today: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/annuity-calculator!

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:

• What does "zero is your hero" mean

• Dirty tactics that agents use to sell annuities

• A more rational alternative to the CD product

• Zero is not your hero

Key Takeaways:

• The phrase "zero is your hero" means that when the market goes down, you will not lose any money. In this world that we live in, you should always be getting some interest on your money.

• Be wary of these two dirty tactics agents use to sell annuities: back-tested numbers and upfront bonuses. Don't base your decision on the past; base it on the future. Don't buy a product for the upfront bonus. Also, there's no such thing as a "market upside with no downside."

• Instead of buying a product where you're locked in for seven to ten years, why not buy a MYGA? It's a CD product where you can lock in on shorter terms of one, two, three, four, or five years.

• Zero is not your hero. If zero is your hero, you might as well dig a hole and put all your money in it. If anyone tells you that zero is your hero, just tell them to shut up. Be rational, don't buy the dream.

"Zero is not your hero. We are in inflationary times. I don't care if we're in inflationary times or not; you need your money to grow. Period. " — Stan the Annuity Man

Connect with The Annuity Man:

Website: http://theannuityman.com/

Email: Stan@TheAnnuityMan.com

Book: Owner's Manuals: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/how-do-annuities-work

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXKKxvVslbeGAlEc5sra2g

Get a Quote Today: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/annuity-calculator!

In this episode, The Annuity Man and Rick Ferri discuss:

• Outperforming 90% of investors

• Developing a simple portfolio

• Five ways to improve your portfolio

• Facing the risks

Key Takeaways:

• Investing is not as difficult as others would have you believe. The best way to invest is to keep things simple; the fewer moving parts, the better.

• Develop a simple portfolio that will hold four funds, two stock funds and two bond funds. The bond funds have to be some fixed income type of allocation, while on the stock side, you do a stock market index fund and a total international fund.

• Are you going to be active or passive? Select a portfolio strategy. Determine whether you're going to be aggressive or conservative and assess if you need a higher rate of return and if you can handle high volatility.

• In bad times, remember that "this too shall pass." Investing doesn't come without risk. Everything in life has risks. Even burying your money has a risk; inflation will eat away at its value. It's better to face the risk.

"The idea is simplicity. Be simple, be low-cost, be consistent, stay the course, be tax-efficient." — Rick Ferri

Connect with Rick Ferri:

Website: https://rickferri.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheIndexer/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-ferri-cfa-b6994010/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Rick_Ferri

Books: https://www.amazon.com/Richard-A.-Ferri/e/B001IGJTE8%3F

Connect with The Annuity Man:

Website: http://theannuityman.com/

Email: Stan@TheAnnuityMan.com

Book: Owner's Manuals: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/how-do-annuities-work

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXKKxvVslbeGAlEc5sra2g

Get a Quote Today: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/annuity-calculator!

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:

• How chaos leads to both risks and opportunities

• What contributes to financial uncertainty?

• Maximizing lifestyle and financial security

• Locking in guarantees

Key Takeaways:

• Political chaos leads to both risks and opportunities in investments, especially regarding annuities.

• Market volatility and potential government actions (like new cryptocurrency regulation) create financial uncertainty.

• Evaluate your age, health, and risk to maximize lifestyle and financial security.

• Locking in contractual guarantees such as lifetime income and principal protection helps prepare for uncertainties.

"Political chaos equals opportunity for locking things in. For contractual guarantees. You have opportunity for lifetime income guarantees." — Stan The Annuity Man

Connect with The Annuity Man:

Website: http://theannuityman.com/

Email: Stan@TheAnnuityMan.com

Book: Owner's Manuals: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/how-do-annuities-work

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXKKxvVslbeGAlEc5sra2g

Get a Quote Today: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/annuity-calculator!

In this episode, The Annuity Man discussed:

• Choosing guarantees over speculation

• Knowing your "PILL" for protection

• Building your income floor

• Balancing risk with security

Key Takeaways:

• Crypto investments are like rolling dice, while annuities provide contractual guarantees and predictable results. Building financial security means focusing on what you can count on, not what you can guess.

• The four reasons for owning an annuity are Principal Protection, Income for Life, Legacy, and Long-Term Care. These act as anchors for stability when market uncertainty rises.

• Social Security and pensions already provide a guaranteed income. Evaluating whether you need more ensures that your financial base remains steady even when the markets shake.

• Instead of chasing bonuses or hypothetical returns, consider moving some assets from high-risk areas like crypto into products with clear, guaranteed outcomes.

"You own an annuity for what it will do, not what it might do. The 'will do' is the contractual guarantees of the policy." — Stan The Annuity Man

Connect with The Annuity Man:

Website: http://theannuityman.com/

Email: Stan@TheAnnuityMan.com

Book: Owner's Manuals: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/how-do-annuities-work

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXKKxvVslbeGAlEc5sra2g

Get a Quote Today: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/annuity-calculator!

In this episode, The Annuity Man and Wade Pfau discuss:

• Retirement Income Style Awareness (RISA) framework

• Wade's different viewpoint on retirement

• 4% rule of thumb and its limitations

• The truth about retirement planning strategies
  
  

Key Takeaways:

• Understanding one's preferred retirement income strategy via the Retirement Income Style Awareness (RISA) framework. It assesses different retirement strategies that align with the retiree's needs and goals, such as total return investing, time segmentation or bucketing, and essential versus discretionary expenses.

• Go beyond viewing retirement as a mere cessation from work and consider it as attaining fiscal independence to pursue passions and goals without dependency on income from employment. Read Wade Pfau's article on the 4% rule of thumb and its limitations. Additionally, explore the potential benefits of annuities as a tool for sustaining retirement spending over a long retirement.

• Explore the broader international experience in financial markets and retirement planning to better understand the uncertainties and challenges involved. Consider the impact of low interest rates on bond returns and the need for diversified retirement income strategies.
  
  

"We need to figure out what retirement strategy works for each individual because what works for one person may not work for another. It's about finding the style that resonates with you." - Wade Pfau

Connect with Wade Pfau:

Website: retirementresearcher.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wpfau/

Twitter: WadePfau

Connect with The Annuity Man:

Website: http://theannuityman.com/

Email: Stan@TheAnnuityMan.com

Book: Owner's Manuals: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/how-do-annuities-work

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCXKKxvVslbeGAlEc5sra2g

Get a Quote Today: https://www.stantheannuityman.com/annuity-calculator!