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Welcome to Shooting It Straight with Stan. I'm your host Stan, The Annuity Man, America's annuity agent, licensed in all 50 states. Today's topic will bring me a lot of hate mail, which I love because it comes from the industry. But here's the topic, it's your money, not your advisor's. I'm going to repeat it again. It's your money, not your advisor's. And I want you to think about that for a second.

Welcome to Shooting It Straight With Stan. I'm your host Stan The Annuity Man, America's annuity agent, licensed in all 50 states. Today's topic is a disturbing one, but one that needs to be discussed, and it's called Beware of Elder Annuity Abuse. The annuity industry is just like any sales industry. There are bad apples in every single sales industry. Pick one; there are bad apples in there.

Stan, the Annuity Man here. What is the objective of an annuity? To me, that's like you're saying, "Hey, I heard all these things about annuities. I went to the bad chicken dinner seminar and ate the chicken." And if it was a steak dinner seminar, now you know how high the commissions were. So, what is the objective of an annuity? I will tell you the good, the bad, the ugly, and the history of that question.

Welcome to Shooting it Straight with Stan. I'm your host Stan The Annuity Man. America's annuity agent, licensed in all 50 states. Writing this one from my main office in Las Vegas, Nevada. Someone asked me the other day, "Well, I don't know if I would ever live in Las Vegas." I'm like, "Listen, people that live in Orlando..." And I lived in Orlando for a long time, where I went to school at the University of Central Florida. Go, Knights.

What are we talking about today? We're talking about Immediate Annuities that are structured single life with cash refund. You need to know that there are many ways to structure Immediate Annuities. There are probably over 30, but today we will discuss single life with cash refund and compare it to other structures.

How to apply for an annuity. That's what you're looking to do? Hey, let's slow down there a little bit, sparky. Before you jump to conclusions about buying an annuity, or maybe you're just trying to find out how the process works, which is good, let's look at even if you need an annuity, and we're going to go through those steps, so hang in there with me.

Today's topic is a barn burner, as they would say in the South. I don't know where that comes from. I'm assuming they were burning barns for whatever reason, but this is a barn burner, and the topic is Annuity Illustration or Annuity Illusion. Now, right at this point, at the time of this blog, the annuity industry, the life insurance industry, and life insurance companies issue annuities.

So, should you have an annuity in your portfolio? That's the question, right? Hey, I'm Stan The Annuity Man, America's annuity agent, licensed in all 50 states. I know you wanted to know that. But should you have an annuity in your portfolio? That's an excellent question. The answer is, I don't know. And maybe not, but maybe so.

Today's topic is "Annuity Bell Doesn't Ring at the Top or Bottom." Now I know all you market gurus and people that have advisors and masters of the universe will tell you that you need to hold, you need to time it, you need to look for arbitrage, there's a timing thing, etc. You know that's not true. And especially in the annuity world, don't just say, "Oh, I hate all annuities," because that's not valid.

Now, you're asking the question of how to liquidate an annuity, which I'm assuming you own one, and you're tired of it, and you don't want to own it anymore, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Whatever the case, we can help you with that, but depending on what type of annuity you have. Some annuities aren't sellable, so we will have to cover every single one and tell you how to liquidate it or if you can liquidate it, etc

Today we are going to compare life with installment refunds versus cash refunds. I got a call the other day, a call I receive a lot with people saying, "Hey, I do not want the annuity company to keep any of the money. I want a lifetime income stream, but I want to make sure that the annuity company doesn't keep a penny." And that's a big concern because there are many misconceptions out there that, when you die, the annuity company keeps the money.

Today's topic is lifetime or interest income. I always say, "Well, you can't just say I hate all annuities." You know how people say all that? I had a person call me today, and this is a great story. Great guy, ex-military, it was, "Yes, sir. No, sir," which I felt kind of weird about because he was in his 70s saying, "Yes, sir. No, sir."

Taxes, taxes, taxes. The question is, how are Qualified Annuities taxed? Meaning that you have an annuity inside of your IRA; how are those annuities taxed? We'll talk about that. But disclaimer, do not take tax advice from agents and advisors and people who haven't gone to law schools, gotten tax degrees or CPAs, and passed courses for tax advice.

Hi, I’m Stan The Annuity Man, America's annuity agent here to answer the burning question and compare annuities versus life insurance. Everyone asks me which one's better, and most of the time, both are sold improperly. Life insurance companies issue annuities, but life insurance and annuities are entirely different animals. And we'll talk about that.

Welcome to Shootin' It Straight With Stan. I am your host, the lovable Stan The Annuity Man, America's Annuity Agent, licensed in all 50 states. Today's topic is a very good one, and it's called Annuities for a Nine-Year-Old. Now, I made my PR team leave this topic and title in place because I know grandfathers and people out there going, "Well, I got a nine-year-old.